Akatsuki's Angel
by The Sixth Degree
Summary: Sakura is captured by the Akatsuki and falls in love with one of their most important members- I know, I'm very original- however, it comes as a bit of a surprise to everyone, including her. Yuri warning.
1. An Enlightening Conversation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Well, seeing as my first attempt to write yaoi failed so dramatically that it and no other yaoi will ever grace my profile, I decided to make an attempt at yaoi's (in my opinion) hotter counterpart, yuri. Enjoy**

* * *

**Akatsuki's Angel**

In a small clearing outside the Hidden Leaf Village, a pink-haired kunoichi was training by attacking targets attached to the surrounding trees. Her name was Sakura Haruno, and she was one of the most powerful and skilled medic ninja in Konoha (second only to Tsunade herself, actually).

As she launched three shuriken into the air, each hitting their target dead center, she spun around and leapt at another, a pale blue aura beginning to emit from her clenched fist. Her blow made contact with the tree and not only destroyed her target, but also uprooted the tree and sent it spiraling away.

Sakura was so intent in her training, though, that she didn't notice the two sets of eyes peering at her from the shelter of the trees. One pair looked more or less normal, besides their rather unusual violet colour. The second pair, however, looked more demonic than humanly, with red where a human's eye is white, lime green irises, and no pupils.

The bearer of the violet eyes- a silver-haired man with a three-bladed scythe attached to his back- moved to attack her, but his partner reached out and held him back. Hidan looked up at Kakuzu's masked face and hissed "Jashin dammit! Can we just fucking get this over with!?" "Have you ever even tried thinking, Hidan? We have to bring her back unharmed. Her medic skills will be useless if she herself is injured." Hidan grumbled slightly before calming himself down.

"So what the hell are we going to do?" Kakuzu turned to survey the diligently training kunoichi before answering "It's actually quite simple. You leap out, do some of your insane religious bullshit, and divert her attention by engaging her. Remember-_no injuries_. Afterwards… I snare her" As he spoke, a number of thin black tendrils emerged from Kakuzu's sleeve. Hidan shuddered in spite of himself- the things had always creeped him out.

As his quintuple-hearted partner crept away, Hidan turned back to the girl and gripped his scythe tightly. He may have been immortal, but he had no desire to suffer the same fate as that tree. So, after a few seconds of mental preparation, he leapt out of his cover and landed with a thud behind her.

She was good, alright; he had barely hit the ground when she was facing him, two shuriken gripped between her middle and index fingers on both hands. Upon seeing who had surprised her, her face whitened a bit; but otherwise she stood her ground. Hidan grinned manically and gripped his rosary, then launched himself at her.

She managed to block his first two strikes with kunai, then used his shoulders as a support to flip over his back and kick him into a tree. Hidan cursed and turned around to find her standing about twenty feet away, two wicked-looking knives held ready in her hands "Why are you here?" she asked in a shaky but loud voice. Hidan just grinned "I think you're about to find out" Sakura looked at him questioningly, then her eyes widened as she felt somethingwrap around her wrists like steel wire. Swinging around in alarm, she was greeted by the sight of two black threads gripping her arms and many more emerging from the ground.

Sakura attempted to jump away, but the two tendrils gripping her yanked her to the ground, smashing her head against the dirt. The last thing that she saw before she blacked out was a cloaked figure bursting out of the ground and his companion shouting "Oh, sure- _I _wasn't fucking allowed to hurt her!" at him.

* * *

When her eyes began to flutter open, Sakura became aware that she was swinging around, as if suspended in midair. Then, the last traces of unconsciousness faded away, and she was being supported along a dirt path through the trees, with an unknown masked ninja's tentacles gripping her around the wrists, elbows, legs, and waist. The silver-haired man that had attacked her was walking a few feet ahead.

And both wore the cloud-adorned cloaks of Akatsuki members.

Panic was her immediate reaction, but then she remembered something Master Kakashi had told her-

_Fear does nothing but cloud your judgment. Don't let it control you _

Sakura took a few deep breaths, calmed down, and began to access her situation. Her arms were pinned, as were her legs, but her weapon pouch hadn't been removed. And her right hand was almost directly beside it. She shifted slightly, afraid that the masked Akatsuki would feel her movements as she reached into her pouch and extracted a shuriken. She lifted the star and took careful aim at the scythe wielder.

Scythe wielder? An Akatsuki scythe wielder?

Sakura frowned slightly. She was beginning to recognize the pair now. They were two Akatsuki ninja named Hidan and Kakuzu, both of whom were considered the most effective pair in the organization. She remembered that there was something else about them, but what?

_Never mind, _she thought. _I'll figure it out later._

She lifted the shuriken once more, held it steady, and let it fly. The throwing star flew past Kakuzu's tentacles and buried itself in Hidan's lower back- directly into one of his vitals. Sakura smiled in triumph as she heard him curse in pain, but her triumph quickly turned to frightened shock when he simply pulled out the shuriken and turned towards her, his eyes filled with killing intent. It was then she remembered that last fact about the duo: they were both considered immortal

"Hidan" Kakuzu said warningly as his partner unhooked his scythe "Seriously?! This bitch just put a fucking knife in my back!" "I know. I should have done it hours ago. Now shut up and keep walking" Hidan growled at the ex-Waterfall nin, then turned and kept walking.

Sakura, realizing that physical attacks were pointless, turned her attention to Kakuzu. "What the hell are you doing?! And where are you taking me?!" Kakuzu looked her in the eye, and the Konoha kunoichi couldn't help but shiver as his eerie eyes settled on hers. "Right now, we are transporting you to the Akatsuki's hideout. By the way, you've been unconscious for several hours, so don't bother trying to find out where you are. Once we get there, you will be required to heal our leader's partner. Afterwards, you will be released" He paused "In what condition is up to you"

"Hey- Konoha bitch" Hidan shouted over his shoulder "Before we release you and everything, I have something I want you to do for me" Sakura looked coldly at him, but as he was about to continue, Kakuzu cut him off "Basically, Hidan will screw anything that has a pretty face and boobs, so I'm assuming…"

There was no need to finish his statement, because Sakura's face had abruptly taken on a death glare that would make Itachi proud. "Frig you! I am never getting in bed with you!" Hidan just smirked "I'll change your mind before this is all over"

Sakura's death glare faded and she answered softly "No, I don't think you will" "And why the hell not?" Hidan retorted. Sakura closed her eyes; she had no idea why she was about to tell them this, when she was having a hard time convincing herself. Probably because if not, they (and by they, she meant Hidan) would be hitting on her the whole time.

"Because…" she continued in an even quieter voice "I like girls" Hidan had abruptly frozen, a look of complete shock on his face, and Kakuzu was obviously torn between surprise at her reply and amusement at his partners face.

Sakura, eyes still closed, thought about how she had found out. How it had started when she caught herself staring at parts of her girl friend's bodies that she normally punched Naruto out for looking at. Then, at Kiba's New Year's party, she had had a bit too much to drink and wound up making out with Hinata (who had drunk so much that she thought she was kissing Naruto). Although her friends had quickly accepted her lesbianism (some, like Lee and Kiba, took a bit longer- Lee because he was interested in her and Kiba because he was interested in every teenage girl in Konoha), it had resulted in her dating life becoming nonexistent.

Sakura was abruptly jerked out of her flashback by a strange sound. She listened closer, then realized it was Hidan laughing! Beside her, Kakuzu was even chuckling slightly to himself. Sakura's eyes flew open and she gave Kakuzu a weird look "Did I miss something?" Hidan turned to Kakuzu and grinningly asked "Should we tell her?" "Be my guest" Kakuzu replied.

Hidan turned towards her "See, it's like this" he said in a tone normally reserved for explaining things to students "The bitch we're taking you to heal swings the exact same way you do" Sakura's eyebrows shot up so far that they were in danger of disappearing into her hairline. "She's a _she_?! _And _a lesbian?!" "Yeah. It's a bit of a shame, really, 'cause she's a really hot bitch" At this, Sakura relapsed into thoughtful silence and Hidan began looking forward again just in time to run into a tree. The resulting curses sent every bird within a two mile radius screaming away.


	2. Hands Of A Healer

**Disclaimer: I will never own Naruto**

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Finally, after two more hours of walking, Hidan and Kakuzu finally reached the Akatsuki hideout with Sakura in tow (literally).

Sakura surveyed the cliff face in front of her for a few seconds, then turned her head towards Kakuzu with an unconvinced expression on her face. "You've got to be kidding me" Kakuzu just grinned under his mask. "Don't worry, it looks better on the inside" "The inside of _what?_"

To answer, Kakuzu turned towards the cliff face and motioned to Hidan. The immortal stepped forward and removed Sakura's headband. She looked at him questioningly, then he abruptly leaned and bound the strip of red cloth over her eyes. "Hey! What-?" She heard the sound of movement in front of her, followed by a grinding noise. Then, she felt the knot at the back of her head loosen as Hidan removed the headband.

She shook her head slightly, then looked back at the cliff wall. Once she looked at the wall, her jaw dropped. What had, a few seconds ago, been a flat rock had just sprouted a dark cave opening. There was no time to question it, however, because Kakuzu was pulling her through the gap.

At first, the pink-haired ninja couldn't see anything through the darkness, but then a series of lights flickered to life around her illuminating a long stone corridor. Kakuzu looked at her, as if seeking her approval, then began pulling her down the large shaft.

After five minutes of being dragged by Kakuzu, when the entrance to the cave had disappeared from her view, Sakura's patience finally disappeared. "Excuse me; I can walk on my own!" she said indignantly. Kakuzu turned to her, and for a moment it looked as though the Konoha kunoichi had spoken her mind one too many times. Then, the ex-waterfall nin shifted slightly, causing the tentacles wrapped around Sakura to loosen and retract.

"Just remember… I'm still right here" Sakura nodded, then paused. Speaking of which…

"Where did your partner go? What's his name…?" Kakuzu rolled his inhuman eyes before answering. "His name's Hidan, and he's probably gone off to his room to pray to his sadistic god. But never mind that- you still have a job to do"

Sakura looked forward again and saw that they had arrived in front of a large wooden door. Kakuzu reached forward, hesitated for a split second, and knocked on it. The heavy wooden door swung open, revealing a man that made Sakura's eyes widen.

The man standing before her was, of course, dressed in an Akatsuki cloak, but he also wore a scratched headband with the symbol of what Sakura identified to be the Hidden Rain Village. He was taller than she was (but nowhere near Kakuzu) and his hair was bright orange, but that wasn't what was remarkable about him. The things that were causing Sakura's jaw to drop were the six studs in his nose, the two under his lip, and the seven in each ear. That, and the unmistakable air of power he seemed to emit.

_Stylish… _she thought wryly. Beside her, Kakuzu stepped forward and addressed the pierced man. "I've brought the girl, Leader" That statement caused Sakura's jaw to drop even further. _This is the Akatsuki leader? _The man turned to Kakuzu, his eyes closed, and nodded slightly. Then, he looked back at Sakura and opened his eyes.

Sakura gasped in spite of herself. The eyes now looking directly into hers were a strange shade of grey, with a series of ripple-like rings expanding from the pupil outward. As the Akatsuki leader continued to silently survey her, Sakura feeling of uneasiness grew; it was like he was looking into her soul.

"I see. Thank you, Kakuzu. Leave us" The masked nin nodded and turned away before walking down the long hallway Sakura braced herself and looked at the leader, wondering what was about to happen to her. But to her surprise, the orange-haired man held out his hand to her. " Sakura Haruno… I am honoured to meet you. I am Pain. Would you please step inside?" Sakura obeyed, completely thrown off by his politeness.

As she stepped through the door into the dark room beyond, Sakura began attempting to make out anything through the inky blackness. Then, from behind her, a light flickered into existence, illuminating the scene.

The room was empty except for a bed, and lying on that bed was a blue-haired young woman whose face was covered with lacerations and blood. The rest of her body was covered by a blanket, but from the dark patches spread around the fabric Sakura assumed that the rest of her body was in no better shape.

The kunoichi noticed a slight movement from beside her and turned. Pain's face hadn't changed, but his body was trembling very slightly. As Sakura surveyed him, she could almost see his carefully maintained air of superiority crumbling before her. Then he turned to face her, and the pain he was feeling was visible even through those rippled eyes. "Please" he whispered. "Help her" Sakura nodded and turned to the bed. She had a lot of work to do.

* * *

**In Konoha**

Three figures had appeared at Sakura's abandoned training site; a blond youth in an orange and black jacket and pants, a taller black haired teen in a navy blue shirt and black pants, and a man with a black shirt and pants, a green vest, a mask covering the lower half of his face, a leaf headband covering his left eye, and a shock of extremely messy silver hair.

Naruto stepped into the middle of the clearing and looked around. "This is where she usually trains, but she's not here"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "We had come to that conclusion, Naruto"

Kakashi frowned. "This doesn't seem right. We had planned to meet here, and Sakura isn't the type to just blow us off without letting us know why" Naruto and Sasuke both agreed, but they couldn't think of any other explanation.

Suddenly, Kakashi bent down swiftly. "What's this?" Sasuke and Naruto both turned to him and saw that he was carrying a pair of knives. One of them was broken off at the hilt. "Wait…those are…" "Sakura's" Sasuke finished Naruto's sentence for him. Just then, Naruto noticed a large hole near the shelter of the trees. As the three ninja stood around it, Kakashi voiced what was running through everyone's heads: "Something's wrong"

"Hang on…" Sasuke said slowly. "I sense someone's chakra signature. I'm not sure who's, but it's very faint. I'm pretty sure whoever's it was is long gone." Kakashi stopped and focused on identifying the signature. He could actually sense two, but one was Sakura's, so he turned his attention to the other. Suddenly, his blood ran cold.

"Naruto, Sasuke, we need to get back to Konoha immediately" The two younger ninja turned to their sensei with confused looks on their faces only to find that he had already started into the trees "Hey! Wait! Sensei-" Naruto leapt after the departing ninja with Sasuke close behind. "What was the chakra signature?"

Kakashi turned to his students, and the look in his eye sent chills down their spines.

"There wasn't one. There were two: Hidan and Kakuzu of the Akatsuki"

* * *

**Back With Sakura**

Sakura was standing in front of the blue-haired kunoichi's bed. She had removed the blanket from her patient and was rewarded with a view of her extremely curvy figure, which was covered (she suppressed the part of her mind that thought "unfortunately") by a pair of black pants and a dark blue sleeveless shirt.

As Sakura leaned over her prone body, she was struck by how severe the damage was. Most of the cuts on her body were quite deep, and the formed a strange pattern of squares all over her skin.

She turned to Pain. "How could this have happened?" "I have no idea" Pain replied. "She returned to the hideout one day and told me that she was experiencing small pains all over her body. No sooner had I took her inside than her face seemed to rip apart. We helped her to a bed, but she was already bleeding furiously. That was when I ordered my associates to bring you to me" Sakura nodded absently and returned to the woman's side.

She placed her hands above her chest, which began to emit a blue glow as she assessed her condition. As her chakra slid throughout her system, Sakura noticed something peculiar: all of the wounds extended deep into her flesh, and every one had traces of chakra remaining in them. Her brow knotted together as she considered what this meant, then she turned to Pain.

"What type of jutsu does she use?" Pain, who clearly had no idea where she was going with this, raised his eyebrows before replying. "Her main jutsu is an art that transforms her entire body in to square…slips…of…paper"

His voice trailed off as his eyes widened in realization. Sakura nodded. "If she's been using this jutsu very often or for long periods of time, the prolonged use could be actually tearing her apart." The sentence seemed to hang in the air between them for a few seconds. Then, Sakura cleared her throat. "I can heal her, but she'll have to give that jutsu a rest for a while and start to exercise caution on how frequently she uses it"

Pain simply nodded, then turned towards the door to leave her to her work. Before he left, however, Sakura thought of something. "Wait!" she called. "What's her name?" Pain studied her face momentarily, then gave a knowing smile before answering. "Her name is Konan"

Sakura nodded, and the pierced Akatsuki leader made his exit.

* * *

Tsunade was sitting in her tower office in the Hidden Leaf Village, sipping a cup of coffee (Shizune had insisted that she cut back on her alcohol intake) when Kakashi burst through the window with Naruto and Sasuke close behind.

The Fifth Hokage groaned. "Why do we even have a door to this place?" Kakashi landed beside her and straightened before beginning to speak.

"Lady Hokage…" he hesitated slightly, and that slight pause was all it took to set off the silent alarm in Tsunade's head. "What's happened?" the beautiful blonde asked. Naruto stepped forward, but Sasuke stopped him before he could say something stupid. Kakashi opened his mouth once more as Naruto and Sasuke braced themselves and spoke.

"Lady Tsunade… we have reason to believe that Sakura has been kidnapped by the Akatsuki" Tsunade's eyes widened as she slammed her cup down onto her desk. Kakashi half looked behind him to see that Naruto had actually physically braced himself against one of the chairs in the office. Which, it turned out, hadn't been a bad idea.

"WHAT? HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?" The furious sannin turned around as an ANBU instantly appeared in front of her. "Assemble Black Ops squads A-D in the square immediately" As the masked ninja left the office with a "Yes, Lady Hokage", Tsunade turned to Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto. "You three had better go too" she added in a much calmer voice. However, as the three turned and began to walk out the door, her voice rose again. "Hurry!"

Standing in the now-empty tower room, Tsunade's looked out the window. Sakura was like a daughter to her.

_Don't worry, Sakura._

* * *

At that moment, the object of Tsunade's concern was hard at work. As she held her hands over Konan's prone form, her chakra slid throughout her body, repairing veins and growing skin back together. Finally, the last cut had healed, and Sakura stood back in exhaustion. Looking at Konan's pale face, she realized just how beautiful she was, even with drops of blood still scattered over her face.

The pink-haired medic reached into her medic kit and extracting a small cloth before leaning forward and beginning to wipe the dry blood from Konan's face. As she withdrew the towel, she noticed a flicker of movement. Konan's eyelids had begun to flutter, and she had just set the towel down as they opened completely.

"Wha- who… who are you?" Sakura smiled. "My name's Sakura. I've been healing you for the past few hours" "Healing-? You mean…" Sakura nodded. "Those pains you were feeling were actually cuts all over your body caused by overusing your paper jutsu. I don't know how long you've been unconscious, but you probably wouldn't last very much longer"

Konan sat up and shook a few locks of blue hair out of her face. "But where…?" suddenly she noticed the leaf symbol inscribed on Sakura's headband. Her expression immediately took on a different look; the kind of look that appears on someone's face when they think that they've offended you.

"Did Pain… kidnap you and bring you here to heal me?" Sakura nodded. "Actually, he didn't do it himself, but close enough" Konan looked angrily towards the door. "I'll have to talk to him" she turned her gaze back to Sakura and her eyes softened. "Thank you for saving me" "Don't mention it. It's what I do" As Konan turned to look around, Sakura remembered what Hidan had told her earlier that morning. "Konan…" the kunoichi turned to Sakura, and she hesitated slightly before continuing. "Are you a lesbian?"

Konan's eyes widened. "Did Hidan tell you? I'm going to kill that religious bastard!"

Sakura hastily attempted to calm the blue-haired paper-wielder down. "No, it's okay. The only reason he told me was because… I am too"

Konan's grey eyes widened even further, then settled on Sakura's own bright green orbs. As they looked at each other, Sakura felt something welling up inside her. She didn't have any time to guess what it was, though, because Konan's lips had just settled on her own.

Now it was Sakura's turn to be surprised. She knew that this was wrong; she had just met (if you could even call it meeting her) Konan today, and now she was letting her kiss her! But something about it just seemed… right.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Sakura quickly pulled away from Konan, who pouted and laid back down. The large wooden door opened and Pain walked in. Upon seeing Konan, her face unmarked and her eyes open, he stopped where he was, then appeared to sway a little bit.

Sakura looked at him nervously. Did he know what had just happened?

"Sakura…" he said slowly. "Would you step outside for a moment?"

_Oh shit.. _She thought."Alright"

Once they were both outside the door, Pain turned to Sakura. She braced herself, but he simply bowed his head. "Thank you" Seeing, and misinterpreting, her confusion, the Akatsuki leader smiled slightly. "You were not expecting me to thank you? You expected, perhaps, that I would simply kill you when I was done with you?"

This hadn't occurred to Sakura, but now she was glad that it hadn't.

"You have been told by your superiors that the Akatsuki is evil. Now, I wish to clear the air between us. I did not form the Akatsuki for evil reasons. I only wish to end the cycle of war that grips this earth"

He paused. "What happened to Konan… not only did it make me fear for her safety, it also opened my eyes. Even the Akatsuki are not invincible… with the possible exception of Hidan" Sakura looked at him strangely, wondering where he was going with this.

"The Akatsuki needs a medic. Sakura Haruno… I would be honoured if that medic was you" Sakura stared at him.

_He's asking me to join them?_

Sakura thought about the fact that the Akatsuki were trying to kill her best friend and the fact that they were sworn enemies of Konoha. But then, she remembered what had just happened with Konan and how good it had felt. Then, the memories of her parent's reaction when she had told them about her lesbianism surfaced.

Sakura swallowed slightly. The memory was still painfully burned into her mind: her mother crying at their dining room table, her father telling her that it would probably be best if she left the house while they sorted this out. And she had. She had packed her belongings and left the house without saying goodbye. She was currently staying with Ino while she attempted to find an apartment.

As Sakura attempted to suppress the painful memory, Pain spoke, "If you wish, take the night to think it over. I can have a bed set up in Konan's room if you wish. After all, it's very late and you must be exhausted"

At that moment, Sakura yawned. The large amount of chakra that she had used to heal Konan must have been finally starting to affect her.

The pink-haired kunoichi nodded once, then turned back to the door. As she stepped through, she heard Pain speaking, but he didn't seem to be talking to her.

"Please ensure that sleeping arrangements are made for Miss Haruno. And before you ask, Hidan, she is not sleeping in your room. She'll be sleeping in Konan's room, because she's one of the only ones of you that I can trust to not rape her" Sakura heard someone mutter. "I heard that, Hidan"

Sakura shut the door and turned. Konan was sitting up in her bed, looking at her. "What was that about?" Sakura closed the door before replying. "He wants me to join the Akatsuki" Konan's eyes widened. "That's great! Oh… wait. I forgot. That'll mean…" She hesitated slightly.

"Abandoning my friends and my home" Sakura finished. But, for some reason, that was starting to become less and less of a con in her mind.

"Oh well. I'll think about it" she stretched, heard the door open. In walked a tall man with blue skin and gill-like lines on his face carrying a portable cot. If Sakura hadn't seen Kisame before, she would have been terrified. Instead, she just waited for him to set the bed down and threw herself onto it.

The last thing she heard before drifting off was a hushed "Good night, Sakura"

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**Oh wow… that was **_**long**_**. I'll try to make the next one a bit shorter.**

**Next: Sakura's decision**

**Please review**


	3. A Chat With Her Worse Half

**Disclaimer: Oturan nwo t'nod I (I don't own Naruto)**

* * *

As Sakura awoke, she was greeted by a cold brown rock ceiling and the constant ache that she associated with chakra deprivation. She turned her head slightly and caught a glimpse of Konan spread out on her bed.

The blue-haired kunoichi's head was slumped slightly to one side, her face turned toward Sakura. As she slept, her breath caused a single tendril of blue hair that had slipped in front of her face to flutter every few seconds. Looking at her skin, Sakura realized that the white colour of her face wasn't due to blood loss as she had expected; her skin was just very pale. Sakura enjoyed the sight for a few seconds, until a very familiar voice rang through her head.

**Do you have any idea what you did last night!?**

_Hello Inner_ Sakura groaned inwardly. _I thought you were gone for good this time._

**Why? Just because we** **found out that we were a lesbian? I have more integrity than that. **

_I guess not. Now then, what do you want?_

**I just wanted to let you know that I've thought it over and I support Oh-Holey-Leader's suggestion.**

_What?_

**You heard me.**

_But… joining them… that would mean turning our back on Konoha. Abandoning everyone that we care about._

**I don't know if you noticed, but our parents practically threw us out the door when you told them about our lesbianism. How can you be so sure that everyone else isn't thinking the same thing, just keeping it to themselves?**

Sakura was silent for a bit after that question. _That's not true. Anyway, even if it were, what does the Akatsuki hold for us?_

**Excuse me, does the phrase "Makeout session with a hot blue-haired chick" mean nothing to you?**

_But do you really think that Master Kakashi and Naruto will accept that we abandoned them for love?_

**I notice that a certain chicken-ass-haired Uchiha has been left out of the equation.**

_Sasuke already betrayed us once before. If it hurt him, it'd be no more than he deserved. But the others… Sasuke going over to Orochimaru already hurt them enough. I don't know if they'd be able to stand us leaving, even if Sasuke is back._

**Honestly, I don't know. But I do know this: if they care as much about us as we do about them, they'll accept our decisions.**

_I… I'll have to think about it._

**Sure, but you don't have that long. In the meantime… last night sure was something!**

_Do we have to talk about that now?_

**Are you kidding? I'll bet Kakashi and Jiraiya were having simultaneous nosebleeds back in Konoha! That was the hottest thing I've ever seen!**

_You sound like a yuri-obsessed fanboy._

**No, I sound like a yuri-obsessed fan****girl. **

_Does it really matter?_

**You make it sound like I have a manly voice. ****Which I don't.**

_Sorry._

**One more thing- didn't that Akatsuki roster Kabuto "gave" us say that one of the Akatsuki members had a split personality?**

_Yeah. So?_

**We should try to meet them. Might be kind of interesting.**

_I wonder if they're a girl…_

…

…

…

_OH MY GOD! WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!?_

**Ha! You sound like such a slu-**

_Okay, I really don't need you right now. Go back to whatever desolate corner of my mind it is that I can't hear you from._

**You are so mean.**

_Seriously! Konan's waking up!_

**Sorry, that was sort of a bonus chapter. That's why it's not that long.**

**I love writing Inner Sakura so much!**

* * *


	4. Encounter

****

Disclaimer: Im'really tired of saying this, but- I DON"T OWN NARUTO

* * *

Konan blinked sleepily as she rose from her bed. Hastily refocusing her eyes, she smiled at Sakura- a smile that the pink-haired ninja was more than happy to return.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sakura asked as she placed her palms on Konan's back and began checking her system for any signs of acute stress.

Konan smiled. "No- in fact, I feel great" As she spoke, she ran her hand lightly along Sakura's leg, sending goose bumps down the pinkette kunoichi's skin. Sakura blushed, and Konan turned and laughed at her face. "Aww! You're so cute when you blush!" Konan quickly leaned in and kissed Sakura's cheek.

Suddenly, Sakura remembered the "conversation" that had taken place before Konan woke up. "Oh yeah! I've thought over what Pain said last night"

Konan perked up slightly, her eyes shifting upward to focus on Sakura's face. "And…?"

Sakura took a deep breath. "I've decided that I'm going to stay"

Konan squealed and pulled Sakura into a tight hug. "This is great! It gets so lonely being the only girl around here." She grinned. "Especially because- you know"

Sakura nodded, just as the sound of approaching footsteps began to echo through the cave just outside the door. Seconds later, said door swing open, revealing the foreboding figure of Pain. "Well, Miss Haruno? Have you considered my offer?" Although his voice was cool, Sakura could see the underlying tension in his face- he was clearly anticipating her to turn him down.

_This is your lucky day_ she thought, and nodded. "I've decided to join" Pain's heavily pierced face relaxed into a smile and he extended his left hand, which Sakura took. "Very well, Miss Haruno, would you please step this way?"

As Sakura moved to oblige, Konan got to her feet as well. Pain eyed her apprehensively, but Sakura reassured him "She's completely fine" Nodding, Pain stepped out the door, the two kunoichi close behind.

As the small group walked through the cavernous shaft, Sakura saw Pain form a one-handed hand sign and begin to murmur. Seconds later, they arrived at a large, important looking door.

Pain opened the door and gestured through it with his hand. Surprised, Sakura glanced at Konan, but she just smiled consolingly and nodded. So, Sakura stepped into the pitch darkness of the room beyond and tried vainly to make out any shapes in the black.

Suddenly, a light sprang to life, illuminating the room in an orange, earthy glow. The room was large, with torches set into the walls. Above her was a ledge protruding from the stone, and standing on it were Pain and Konan. All around her, more ledges were set into the stone at varying heights (though none as high as Pain's), and on each one stood a ninja wearing an Akatsuki cloak.

Sakura looked around at the figures surrounding her. To her left stood Hidan, his scythe strapped to his back and his customary smirk in place. To her right stood a very tall ninja man with blue skin, gills, hair that defied gravity and something massive wrapped in white cloth attached to his back; Kisame Hoshigaki, if she remembered the entry in the Bingo Book correctly.

Turning around, she saw a young blond ninja with hair in a ponytail and long bangs covering his left eye. She instinctively thought _Ino?, _but then realized that the ninja was male. He was also giving her a death glare that would make Orochimaru proud.

Between Pain and Kisame stood a man with smooth black hair and Sharingan eyes; Itachi Uchiha. Sakura felt a pang of dislike as her eyes settled on him, and she made sure that they didn't linger there any longer than they had to.

Between Hidan and Pain stood Kakuzu, and between Hidan and the blonde man was a ninja she had never seen before; they had short, spiky black hair, and every inch of their skin was covered in a cloak, black gloves, a pair of boots and a peculiar orange one-eyed mask that resembled a basketball.

Sakura passed over the last ledge, which was empty, and looked back at Pain. The orange-haired Akatsuki leader surveyed her for a few seconds more before speaking.

"Sakura Haruno" he said in a voice that sent chills down Sakura's spine; he sounded even more authoritative when the entire Akatsuki was present. "You have consented to pledge your service to the Akatsuki. This means that you must be willing to kill or die in the name of our cause. Are you?"

Sakura looked directly into his rippled eyes. "I have one condition, if I may" Around her, the other ninja seemed to collectively stir.

Pain raised an eyebrow and asked "Oh? And what might that be, pray tell?" Sakura took a deep breath and continued to speak.

"My only wish is that I would not be assigned tasks pertaining to the nine-tailed fox, known to me as Naruto Uzumaki"

This time, the other Akatsuki definitely moved; Sakura saw Itachi surveying her with interest. However, Pain simply smiled slightly before continuing. "Very well, Miss Haruno. In fact, I will go one step further. I assure you that, under any circumstances, the need to take arms against Konoha will be left strictly under your judgment.

Sakura nodded. "In that case, I accept your terms"

Pain raised his hand, then spoke again. "Please step forward"

Sakura was slightly confused by this, but she complied. Then, as she was wondering what was happening, something began to emerge from the ground before her.

Her eyes widened and she nearly gasped, but her desire not to show weakness won out as the thing rose. Like a bizarre, fast-growing flower, a very large venus flytrap emerged from the ground. As Sakura watched apprehensively, it opened, revealing the upper body of a man.

This time, Sakura couldn't help but stare. The man was half black as night, half paper white, with a shock of short green hair. His black half was covered with small pinpricks of white and a single yellow eye glowed on the dark side of his face.

"Zetsu" Pain's voice rang through the air. The figure inside the venus flytrap, who Sakura had just realized was carrying something, raised his hand s and offered it to her.

Sakura took it and muttered "Thank you"

"No Problem" "**Don't thank us- we won't be doing it again"**

_That must be the skitz _Sakura thought. Looking down at what she holding, she saw an Akatsuki cloak, a wide-brimmed hat and a heavy grey ring bearing the kanji 花

_Blossom…_

"Welcome to the Akatsuki, Sakura Haruno"

Sakura looked at Pain and bowed. The Akatsuki smiled at this before continuing. "Normally, new members are required to prove their skills, but there is amore pressing matter at hand." Motioning beside him, Pain dropped his smile. "Konan is going to acquiring a crucial piece of intel from one of our agents. You are to accompany her"

Sakura nodded once to show that she understood, and Pain waved his arm.

"Dismissed"

* * *

Sakura and Konan reached the informant without trouble, and they were on their way back when three chakra signatures moved within their range, coming closer each passing second.

Konan simply groaned, but Sakura's blood had begun to run cold; all three of the signatures were terribly familiar.

"Konan" she whispered. The blue-haired nin looked at her, frowning slightly at the tone of her voice. "It's my old team"

Konan's eyes widened. "Do you want to-" she gestured away.

Sakura breathed deeply. "No. I'll have to face them sooner or later, so it may as well be sooner."

Konan nodded, and Sakura pulled her hat low over her eyes, hiding her face and hair.

After a few minutes of silent running through the trees, three figures burst through the foliage and landed in front of Konan and Sakura, who both halted.

Naruto pointed at Konan. "You! What have you done with Sakura!?"

Konan just shook her head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you"

Kakashi stepped forward. "Don't make this any harder on yourself than it has to be. Just tell us where Sakura is"

Konan looked toward Sakura, as if asking her what to do,but apparently patience was a rapidly fleeing thing in Squad 7 today.

With a growl of fury, Sasuke landed in front of Konan and kicked her in the chest. Doubling over in pain, Konan cried out once before Sasuke smashed his fist into her skull.

"Where is she!?" he roared, backhanding the terrified kunoichi across the face. However, as he pulled his hand back for a fourth blow, it was clear that he wouldn't get one.

Sakura leapt at him, he fist faintly glowing, and punched him in the mouth. Before he could do anything but start in surprise, she had grabbed Konan's cloak and dragged her away from him.

"Are you all right?" she asked anxiously as she began quickly healing her. After Konan had nodded and her injuries had been stabilized, Sakura rounded on her teammates with fury.

"What did she do to justify that!?" Sakura shouted angrily. However, the meaning of her words was lost on her former team, because at the sound of her voice they all stiffened, their eyes widening.

Kakashi was the first to find his vocal cords again. "Sakura?" he asked in a voice of pure disbelief.

Sakura stepped forward and removed her hat, letting her pink hair fall down to frame her face.

"Sakura what are you doing?!" Naruto shouted. "Are you all right?"

Sakura nodded. "I'm fine" Sasuke, on the other hand, had narrowed his eyes. Sakura grinned savagely when she saw a trickle of blood run out of his mouth.

"And why are you wearing an Akatsuki cloak?" he asked in a voice of pure venom. Sakura looked from him, to Kakashi, to Naruto.

"I joined them." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at this, while identical expressions of disbelief crossed Naruto and Kakashi's faces. However, all of Sakura's attention was focused on the Uchiha. "Yes Sasuke, I joined a terrorist organization that you brother, who you hate, is a part of. Do you know why?"

Sasuke looked like he couldn't care less why, so Kakashi asked instead. "Why, Sakura?"

"Because…" Sakura glanced at Konan, then continued. "Because I love Konan, and I want to stay with her. And, for the record, I'm not asking you to like it. I just want you to accept it"

For a few moments, no one spoke or moved. Finally, Kakashi took a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're aware that if you go through with this, you'll be considered worse than a missing nin?" When Sakura nodded, he sighed. "Alright, if you're determined to go through with this, I'll accept your judgment." He pulled Sakura into a hug. "You're like a daughter to me, you know" And he leaped away.

Sakura felt a lump rise in her throat, then turned to Naruto. He was looking directly into her eyes, betrayal written all over his face. As Sakura opened her mouth to speak, he just shook his head and turned to follow Kakashi.

Sakura turned to Sasuke, tears beginning to pool at the corners of her eyes. For a long time, Sasuke was silent, a completely unreadable look on his face. Then, his expression darkened to the point that Sakura could practically see the light fading around them, and he said one word before turning to follow his team.

"_Bitch_"

Sakura's eyes widened momentarily before her legs gave out. Sliding to the ground with a thud, she began to cry. Konan knelt down beside her and wrapped her arms around the sobbing kunoichi, then picked her up and began the long trek back to the Akatsuki hideout.

Upon returning to the headquarters, Konan immediately took Sakura to the room that they now shared. **(Just so we're clear, it's a different room from where Konan was when she was injured) **

Konan gently laid Sakura down on her bed, tears still pouring down the pink-haired kunoichi's face. "I feel… alone" she cried softly. "It hurts"

Konan hugged her tightly. "Don't say that- you have me now. And as long as I'm alive, I promise that you'll never be alone. Never"

* * *

**Aww... poor Sakura. Don't worry, though, I'm sure Naruto will come around. Sasuke, on the other hand...**

**(In case you haven't figured it out yet, I really don't like him all that much)**

**Please Review**


	5. First Mission

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I don't intend to**

* * *

When Sakura awoke, she was aware that she felt better, like a weight had been lifted from her- then, as she remembered the events of the previous day, her face clouded.

"Morning, sunshine" a voice said jokingly. Turning, Sakura saw Konan blinking sleepily on a chair beside her bed- her own bed, Sakura realized as she looked down and saw that she was, in fact laying on Konan's bed. Around her were the already-familiar pale blue walls, small writing desk and wardrobe of the Kunoichi's room.

"You okay?" Konan asked, planting a small kiss on Sakura's forehead as she spoke. "You were crying almost all night- even when you fell asleep. I wasn't sure what to do"

Sakura yawned and tried to present a carefree attitude. "I'm fine. You know how sometimes crying about something makes you feel better about it? Well, I'm feeling pretty damn good about Sasuke"

Konan (whose eyes had darkened at the mention of Sasuke) smiled again. "Come on, you haven't eaten since we left yesterday- I'll see if I can find you something"

Sakura nodded and followed Konan out the door, pausing only to wipe a single tear off of her cheek.

* * *

A little later, Sakura was sitting in the Akatsuki's very modest kitchen/ living area and trying hard not to laugh. Konan had attempted to cook Ramen noodles for her and her girlfriend, but had overestimated the power of the stove- the result was a mess of long, thin noodles scattered everywhere, a burn mark on the ceiling and a very confused bluenette kunoichi.

"What… but… I didn't… ah, man…" Konan looked at the ramen packaging. "Ohhhhh, only _350 degrees_. I put it on…" pausing, she blushed slightly "Never mind"

Sakura giggled and sidled over to the disappointed Kunoichi, lifting up the lower part of the apron that Konan had put on and using it to wipe a splat of miso off her face. Kissing her pink-tinted cheek, Sakura asked "You're not much of a cook, are you?"

Konan pouted. "Not… really. We usually just order take-out, but Kakuzu's been cracking down on the budget lately. Plus, I wanted to get some practice in, but this…" she trailed off, looking around at the delicious destruction surrounding her. Then, her eyes lit up. "Hey… can you cook?"

Sakura frowned slightly. "Well… a little bit…"

"Well, you've got all of us beat" Konan said, untying the apron strings wrapped around her waist. "How about we just grab something simple?

"Sounds good" Sakura said, relieved.

Later, as the two lovers sat on the couch munching on a _massive _box of pocky sticks, a voice screamed from the doorway _"Oh my god! Do you know how much it cost to fix that last time?!?!"_

"Hi Kakuzu" Konan said without looking up from her treats. Sakura, on the other hand, looked up and saw Kakuzu clutching his chest, only to gasp when he fell over and stopped moving.

"Konan! I think… I think he's having a heart attack!" she said, jumping over the back of the couch, her hands already beginning to glow a pale blue. Konan just turned around and watched Kakuzu with a dry look on her face. "Kakuzu, that's not scary anymore"

To Sakura's shock, the stitched nin's eyes flew open, and he pulled himself up onto his feet, leaving a very confused pink-haired medic seated on the floor beside him.

"That's the beauty of having five hearts- if one gives out, I have spares" Kakuzu grinned. Sakura just glared at him before returning to her sweets- and the pocky too, of course.

Just then, a blonde ninja walked through the door. Spotting Sakura, his eyes narrowed and he frowned. When the kunoichi became aware of his presence, his frown deepened, and he left without a word.

Kakuzu whistled. "Wow- I think I just choked on the tension in here. He _really_ doesn'tlike you"

Sakura sighed. "I know" _Oh boy, do I know…_Later, the trio had been joined by Hidan and Tobi (the latter was currently seated on the floor channel surfing, the former eyeing Konan and Sakura). Just then, the sound of pouring rain could be heard for a few seconds as the cavern was opened. Then, Itachi and Kisame entered the room, both dripping wet.

"Have a good swim, boys?" Konan asked while trying to hold back a smile. Kisame replied "Yes" while Itachi just looked around the room with boredom before turning and walking out. His partner, on the other hand, threw himself down on the couch (despite the scream of protesting springs) and swiped the remote from Tobi.

As Tobi sputtered a few unintelligible words before relapsing into silence at a glance from Kisame, another person entered the room; the imposing figure of Pain swept the room with his Rinnegan, settling on Konan and Sakura (who was seated on Konan's lap).

"Excuse my interruption" he said quietly, "But I have matters of business to discuss with Konan and Miss Haruno"

Said kunoichi stood up, hesitated for a split second, then followed the highly-pierced man out the door.

Upon arriving at Pain's "office", he turned to them.

"I apologize for bothering you so soon after Miss Haruno's unpleasant encounter, but there is some very important intel that must be passed along to a contact in the heart of Fire Country. Sakura, you were chosen for this because you know the Land of Fire better than anyone present at this base, besides maybe Itachi. Konan, you will be going along because if I didn't assign you to, you'd go anyway"

Sakura couldn't help but smile as Konan blushed and was rewarded by a slight smile from Pain.

"So, unless you have any objections…?"

Konan looked uneasily at Sakura, but she nodded. "I'm ready"

Pain nodded. "Well, I'll have Zetsu brief you" Both Kunoichi, neither of whom had noticed the plant man appearing behind them, started slightly when he began to spoke.

"Alright, you have to take this scrolland take it to a contact in Fire Country" "**While drop kicking anyone who gets in your way**" "Umm… okay, sure. Why not"

"The contact is currently residing in a small settlement south east of Konoha, approximately 20 kilometers from here. Your timeframe is as follows: One day to reach the contact, and another to return" "**You have permission to deal with anyone who hinders your progress using force**"

Konan nodded. Sakura pushed the strong emotions that had risen at the mention of Konoha from her mind, then followed the bluenette out of the room.

* * *

At the concealed entrance of the hideout, Pain turned to Konan again. "Before I let you do this, I have to know that you are _absolutely _sure that you're well enough to go"

Konan smiled at both his concern and the slightly dumbfounded look on Sakura's face at how much the leader of the most hated organization in the ninja world was showing to her new girlfriend.

"Don't worry so much, I'll be fine" Konan said, giving him a hug as she spoke. Sakura felt a slight pang of jealousy rise up in her, then Konan let go-

And they were off.

Hours later, as the pair were nearing the village where their contact would be located, Sakura reached out and stopped Konan. The paper nin looked at her with confusion.

"What?" Sakura blushed.

"I… I'm just making sure that you don't overexert yourself. Especially since those wounds are just newly healed" Sakura said quickly, as if she was afraid of offending Konan. However, the other kunoichi grinned and hugged her. "Aww, thank you! But I think I'll be alright"

"…Okay, let's go" Sakura said.

As the pair entered the village, Sakura made a beeline for the nearest alleyway; but Konan simply began walking down the street.

"What are you doing?!?" Sakura whispered frantically.

"Don't worry about it" Konan waved her hand dismissively. "I've seen this kind of place before- the citizens are terrified of us. Too terrified to do anything about our presence, anyway"

Sakura looked doubtfully at her, but followed her into the street. The effect was instantaneous- the road was empty in seconds, with every last pedestrian on the street scrambling to be out of sight.

Suddenly, a voice shouted "You!"

Spinning around, Sakura saw a man standing before them wearing the plain clothes of a civilian. "You… you don't belong here! Go back where you came from!" he shouted, his voice shaky but his stance straight.

Suddenly, Sakura felt angry.

_He thinks he can talk to us like that? _**Yeah, who does he think he is, anyway? Teach him a lesson!**Then, before Konan or the man could react, Sakura had flown forward and landed a straight punch into the stranger's gut. Doubling over in pain, he coughed up a few droplets of blood.

"Now then" Sakura said coldly. "Make sure you don't speak that way to those who could make you think better of it next time"

As Sakura turned and walked back to Konan, the bluenette was eyeing her with wonder. "Wow… you showed him, didn't you?"

Sakura shrugged. "He needed to be taught to respect us"

Konan grinned, but the grin slipped when she looked to the end of the street. "Oh no…"

Sakura followed her glance and her blood ran cold. Standing before them were four leaf ANBU, all looking in the opposite direction.

Sakura swallowed "Konan…" she whispered. Konan nodded, and they both began retreating to the shelter of the alleyway; but, before they made it, one of the ANBU turned and spotted them.

Shouting to his comrades, he began to pursue them. His fellows, after seeing the distinctive red clouds on his targets black cloaks, followed immediately.

"Shit" Sakura punched a nearby building, bringing one of the walls down between them an the approaching ninjas. "We need to go now" Konan nodded, and the two of them leaped over the rooftop and toward the edge of the village.

They had just passed into the trees that surrounded the small town when Sakura sighed,

_That was close. _**We should have kicked their asses! There were only four of them!**

Ignoring her inner, Sakura bent down to catch her breath. Suddenly, she straightened. "Konan!" she shouted-

And an entire platoon of Black Ops ANBU leaped out of the trees, surrounding the two Akatsuki.

* * *

Pain sat on a ledge hidden on the cliff face above the entrance to the base, looking in the direction of Konoha. Then, Zetsu emerged from the ground.

"What are you doing?" "**I don't care, I'm just curious**" "Ignore him. What's wrong?"

Pain looked out over the horizon for a few seconds. "I shouldn't have let her go" he whispered. "Something's going to happen to her- I know it"

Zetsu awkwardly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry- she'll be fine"

…

…

…

…

"**Probably**"

* * *

Sakura slammed her fist against one of the ANBU, only to see him disappear with a puff of smoke. _Another clone!_

Behind her, Konan had been trying to keep out of the way of the fight by evading the attention of the ANBU; however, she wouldn't be able to remain unnoticed for long.

Suddenly, one of the ANBU- this one a woman- launched herself into the air and removed two scrolls from a pouch on her waist. Unrolling them, she pointed them at Sakura; then, without a word, the scrolls began emitting massive amounts of Kunai, shuriken and other ninja weapons.

"Ahh!" Sakura shouted. One of the kunai had pierced her leg, knocking her down onto one knee. As she fell, another caught her under the eye, the force of the blow knocking off her wide-brimmed hat.

One of the ANBU looked around at his fellows and nodded. Then, the entire platoon advanced toward the panting, bleeding kunoichi.

Suddenly, a storm of small white objects flitted past, slicing gashes on arms, legs, and any other exposed skin they could find. Looking up, Sakura saw Konan's paper fluttering around her like a shield- but she was forming to many pieces-

"Konan, stop!" Sakura screamed, but it was too late. A piercing cry of pain erupted out of the middle of the swirling white cloud, and the papers reformed into Konan's limp body as it landed at Sakura's feet.

The pink-haired medic looked up, white-hot rage coursing through her. Forming six hand signs in rapid succession, she stood up, the pain in her leg and face forgotten.

_Cherry Blossom Wing Jutsu!_

Two glittering masses of blue chakra erupted out of her back, flapping in the wind. One of the ANBU leaped, but at that instant, the chakra reshaped itself into two massive wings, which Sakura used to slam the ninja away.

The rest of the Black Ops responded with a hail of ninja weapons, but Sakura curled her wings around her and Konan like a shield before kneeling down and placing her hands over Konan's prone form.

_Come on, Konan…_Suddenly, a voice erupted outside her dome of protection, so loudly that she could hear it through her shield and over the sound of thousands of small blades hitting her wings.

_Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Fang over Fang!_

Sakura's eyes widened, but the combination effort of maintaining her wings and trying to heal Konan had taken it's toll on her; she couldn't react fast enough as two miniature tornadoes of swirling orange chakra smashed through her shield, shattering it to pieces, and slammed into her. The last thing she saw before blacking out was a bloody piece of paper fluttering away into the trees…

_Wait- Fang over Fang?_

_Kiba…?_

* * *

Pain was still seated on his ledge when he caught sight of something white fluttering over the trees. Frowning, he raised his hand.

_Universal Pull!_

When the object reached his hand, he grew still. Resting on his pal was a piece of paper that still carried traces of Konan's chakra. A piece of paper stained with blood…

Pain was still for a split second; then he spoke.

"Zetsu"

The schizophrenic man silently grew out of the ground beside him.

"Yes?" "**What do you want **_**now**_**?**"

Pain turned to him, and even Zetsu was taken aback by the emotion in his eyes.

"Assemble the Akatsuki. We're heading to Konoha"

* * *

**Ooohhhhhh, cliffhangers!**

**Please review**


	6. No Tobi, You Can't Keep Her

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

**

Sakura's eyelids slowly fluttered open as she tried to clear her head. Then, her vision cleared enough to reveal her location, and the memories of what had just happened jumped back into her head.

She and Konan had been attacked by Leaf ANBU… knocked unconscious…

And now they were standing in the Hokage's office, with Lady Tsunade standing before them.

Sakura felt something strange around her wrists, and looking down, discovered that it was a pair of chained manacles with a seal fixed to them. When she tried to use her chakra-enhanced muscles to break out of them, however, the cuffs didn't even crack; the seal was clearly suppressing her chakra.

Turning to her left, she saw that Konan was seated beside her, still only partly conscious. She was wearing a similar pair of manacles, probably to stop her from turning to paper and fluttering away.

"Now then…" she heard Tsunade's voice

Turning, she saw that Tsunade had seated herself at her desk. "To begin… would you kindly tell me who you are?"

Sakura blinked, confused. "What…? But… you know who I am"

Tsunade looked her in the eye. "You look like Sakura Haruno; but the Sakura Haruno I knew would not forsake her village, join the Akatsuki, harm an innocent, and injure seven ANBU, all for a woman who she met not three days ago!"

Sakura closed her eyes. "Lady Tsunade… that may be true. However, even though I am still Sakura Haruno, I am not the Sakura Haruno you knew. I've changed"

Tsunade bowed her head. "No. You can't have. These animals kidnapped you, and instead of trying to escape, you _join them_?" the Hokage asked, her voice rising as she stood up and walked toward the pink-haired kunoichi's chair.

Sakura refused to show weakness. "Didn't Kakashi tell you anything?"

For a moment Tsunade was silent. Then, she turned to the window and spoke, her voice low.

"When they returned… he told me that you were not coming back. That you had found someone you loved… and wanted to stay with, even if it meant betraying Konoha. But I couldn't believe him"

She turned back to Sakura "Sakura… we need you back. Your friends… your family…"

Bang. Those were the magic words. _Your family_.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "My family removed me from their life, only because I couldn't be what they wanted. Konan… the Akatsuki… are my family now, and they accept me for who I am"

Tsunade's face was impassive. "You truly believe that, don't you?"

"I know it" Sakura replied, an edge of venom beginning to creep into her voice.

The office was silent. By then, Konan had regained consciousness, but had been wise enough to simply watch the discussion, her eyes wide. Then, Tsunade sat down, her tone reverting back to business-ready precision.

"Well then, if you truly believe yourself to be one of them, what should I do with you?"

"What would you do to Kisame, or Hidan, or Deidara if they were in this situation?" Sakura countered.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "I would sentence them to lifetime imprisonment, at the least"

Sakura bowed her head. "Then I guess your decision is made, no?"

Tsunade stood up. "No, it isn't! Because I would only place those judgments on them because they are the Akatsuki!"

"_And so am I!_" Sakura shouted. Then, with an air of crushing finality, she spit on her sensei's robe.

Konan gasped, but Tsunade made no sound. Then, she motioned, and two ANBU appeared out of thin air. "Well then" she whispered in a deadly voice. "If that is how you feel, than I have no choice but to sentence you to-"

But, before she could complete her sentence, the wall behind her blew up in a spectacular fashion.

When the dust cleared, the two ANBU were lying on the ground, unconscious or worse. Tsunade had managed to avoid serious injury, but had been pinned to the floor by a massive piece of stone and was looking at the massive hole in her wall with fury. And hovering outside it-

A massive clay bird was flapping its wings, Deidara standing on top of it. "That's not going to happen, un" he said, his face more serious than Konan had ever seen it.

Suddenly, Sakura felt something slithering over her wrists. She smiled as she looked down and saw Kakuzu's tendrils gripping the chains around her wrists tightly before shattering them. Then, Kakuzu rose into view through the window, riding another one of Deidara's clay birds.

Sakura ran to the hole, Konan close behind. "How did you know?" Sakura gasped.

"Leader found a piece of Konan's paper stained with blood, and figured that something was up" Kakuzu replied. Deidara, on the other hand, simply turned and looked at the ground. Following suit, Sakura saw Hidan at the base of the building, fighting what looked like Konoha's entire ANBU division.

"Come on, you fuckers! Is that all you've got?"

Suddenly, something rustled behind the group. Sakura spun around, just in time to see Tsunade launch forward, preparing to land a massive blow to the back of Konan's neck. Sakura screamed and threw herself in the way, bringing her foot upwards into Tsunade's stomach. With a sickening crack, the Hokage was thrown backwards, at least two of her ribs shattered.

As Tsunade raised her head, she saw Sakura standing before her, foot raised. As the Hokage's vision began to blur, she spoke.

"It's no use, is it? I've lost you"

Sakura knelt down beside her. "I'm afraid so, sensei" she whispered. And with that, she placed her glowing fingertips on Tsunade's neck. The medic nin's eyes widened, then closed as her head slumped forward.

Konan covered her mouth as Sakura stood up and turned around. "Did you…?" she asked, her voice trailing off.

Sakura started. "What? No! I just knocked her out. I… I'm not ready to kill anyone from Leaf. Not yet"

The four ninja looked down to see that Itachi and Kisame had joined the battle with the ANBU; however, they and Hidan were steadily losing ground. But, just as the group was about to leap down and assist them, a voice shouted from the rooftops:

_Almighty Push!_

A massive blast wave ripped through the ANBU, scattering them like sawdust. Then, the six paths of Pain landed beside the three Akatsuki, chakra blades extended.

Konan gasped, and without another word, leaped down, with Sakura following. Kakuzu and Deidara followed, and they all landed in front of the six Pains.

The lead Pain's eyes widened, but then narrowed as the ANBU began to recover. "Go. Get back to the base. We'll handle things here"

Sakura began to protest, but Kisame had already picked her up and began leaping away, Kakuzu just behind with Konan. Deidara, Hidan and Itachi weren't far behind.

"Are you sure it's alright to leave him… er… them… there alone?" Konan just grinned.

"Are you kidding? We'd have to be helping them, just to make it a fair fight!" Sakura smiled, then felt Kisame's pace slow. Looking around, she realized that they had emerged from the village and were standing in the forest.

Kisame set her down with surprising gentleness fir someone of his size, Kakuzu following suit with her blue-haired partner. Sakura jumper forward and embraced her, feeling Konan's arms gripping her tightly. Kissing her, Sakura muttered. "That was a close one"

Konan replied "Well, as long as I have you to protect me, I don't have to worry" Sakura blushed a bit at this, but before she could speak, the ground near them began to shift.

Zetsu emerged from the soil, his Venus flytrap opening up to expose his face. "I take it the mission went well?" When he received a nod, he looked the group over more carefully and frowned.

"Oh, Pain stayed behind to cover our escape" Konan explained. But Zetsu shook his head, saying "I'm not worried about him- where's Tobi?"

Sakura and Konan both turned to Deidara, their eyes widening. _Tobi _had come with them?

"Dammit, un!" Deidara smacked his forehead. "I completely forgot about him!"

Suddenly, six very familiar chakra signatures began moving approaching the group. As Pain burst through the trees, Konan rushed forward and hugged him; to the surprise of everyone present, he returned the embrace.

"I'm so sorry" he whispered. "I shouldn't have made you go"

Konan just smiled. "Don't worry. Like you said- if you hadn't assigned it, I would have gone anyway"

Pain nodded, then turned to Zetsu. "Report?"

"Ahh… well, the escape went flawlessly, but…we've lost Tobi"

Pain closed his eyes and said nothing. Just then, a noise could be heard crashing through the trees. Sakura turned toward it, her fist glowing; but, when she sensed their chakra, she relaxed.

A black blur burst through the trees, landing in front of the group. "Sempai! Look what Tobi found!"

As the masked nin straightened, Sakura's eyebrows leaped up to hairline and she let out a cry; Tobi was standing before her, carrying the unconscious form of none other than Hinata Hyuga!

"Tobi! What did you do?" she shouted. Tobi jumped at how loud her voice was, then cowered on the ground (as best he could while supporting the weight of a teenage girl)

"Don't be mad at Tobi! Tobi just tried to say hi to the pretty girl on the street and she fainted! Tobi thought her would bring her so she wouldn't get stepped on!"

Sakura was prepared to punch Tobi into the next village when Konan Pain quickly stepped in between them. "Enough. Tobi, return the girl"

Even though Tobi's mask hid his face, it was clear that he had begun to pout. "Whyyyyyyyyy? Konan got to keep hers- why can't Tobi?"

At this Konan blushed frantically. "No, Tobi! It's not like that- Sakura isn't mine- not like that, anyway" she smiled mischievously at the pinkette, who blushed slightly as well.

"Aww…" Tobi said, his head hung with disappointment.

At that precise moment, Hinata woke up.

"Hun? Whuzgoinon?" she looked up, only to see Tobi looking down at her. Her face paled, but Tobi quickly spoke.

"Don't worry; Tobi's not going to hurt you! Tobi just wanted to say hi earlier, and tell you that he thinks you're a very pretty girl!"

Hinata giggled slightly at this, then looked around at the people surrounding her. Her pale eyes widened, her face becoming approximately the colour of chalk. Sakura quickly stepped forward and grabbed her shoulder.

"Snap out of it, Hinata!"

Hinata jumped slightly, then looked at Sakura. "What- Sakura? But…" she trailed off. "Oh… that's right" she said, an edge of dislike creeping into her voice.

"Tobi, take her back. Now" Sakura quickly reached over and placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder. knocking her unconscious. Tobi stuttered a bit, then turned and began leaping away.

* * *

Upon reaching the Hyuga complex, Tobi set down Hinata just as she regained consciousness.

"Tobi is sorry about his friends- it takes them a while to get to know people"

Hinata just smiled. "That's okay. Thank you for bringing me home… Tobi"

Tobi laughed. "Tobi doesn't mind! But…" he said, his tone changing- now he sounded like a shy child asking for something he was sure he wasn't allowed to have.

"Could Tobi ask pretty girl a favor?"

Hinata looked at him curiously "Okay… What is it?"

Tobi shifted his weight from foot to foot a few times before replying. "Cantobicomeseeyouagain?"

Hinata blinked. "I'm sorry- could you speak more slowly?"

Tobi took a few deep breaths "Could Tobi… come back and see you again sometime?"

Hinata's smile lit up her face. "Of course you can, Tobi- but are you sure you'll be safe?"

"Of course!" Tobi smiled, then he disappeared from sight. Hinata jumped, then realized the masked missing-nin was standing behind her. "Tobi never has to worry about getting caught"

Hinata laughed at his antics, then waved goodbye as he walked away. Suddenly, she thought of something.

"Tobi, wait!" The missing-nin turned around. "I forgot to mention it… but my name's Hinata"

Tobi was silent for a moment, then he spoke. "Hinata… you have a very pretty name. Tobi likes it!"

Finally, he faded from sight.

* * *

As the Akatsuki walked through the woods, Pain purposely began to lag behind; then, Zetsu emerged from the ground.

"You have the intel?"

Nodding, Zetsu removed a scroll from his cloak. Pain opened it and read it's contents before nodding, rolling it back up, and began to tuck it away.

"Well, that will make our job much easier… when the time comes"

Just before he put it away, a shaft of light from the newly risen moon struck the scroll, reflecting off of the characters engraved on it.

桜の花

_Sakura…

* * *

_

**Well, there's some more plot development out of the way. What's Zetsu been up to? Well, you'll have to wait to find out**

**Next up will probably be a filler chapter, just to kinda give me a break from story writing (and set up a love scene for Sakura and Konan ;) )**

'**Til next time, **

**Please review!**


	7. An Expectation to Live Up to

**WARNING- Author's note inbound, approaching at end of chapter**

**Disclaimer: It's been a while, but I still am no closer to ownership of Naruto.**

* * *

Deep within the cavernous reaches of the Akatsuki hideout, the sounds of activity were beginning to slowly spread throughout the various rooms of the cave. As the outside world was still gripped in mist-shrouded dusk, the organization's members were rising, independently beginning their own individual morning routines.

Inside the room shared by Sakura and Konan, the two kunoichi were laying side-by-side on the bed they now shared. Sakura's head was resting on Konan's shoulder, the older woman's long, pale fingers tangling slightly through her long pink hair.

Sakura blinked sleepily, brushing a few of her silky pink locks out of her eyes. Glancing upward, a small smile graced her features as she saw the sleeping face of her lover, peacefully laying against the pillow beneath her head.

Slowly extracting herself from Konan's grasp, Sakura leaned back down to plant a light kiss on the bluenette's cheek, before turning to the rough wooden wardrobe situated in the corner of the room. Reaching inside, she withdrew a deep red sleeveless shirt, and a pair of rather tight shorts, which she proceeded to pull onto her body.

Yawning profusely, the pink-haired ninja eased the door open and slid out, careful not to disturb her lover's slumber. She began making her way down the hallway, passing Kakuzu's quarters, then Hidan's, and finally reached Deidara's door.

Hesitating slightly, Sakura turned and looked at the door. At this hour, Deidara was almost certainly still asleep. However, there was a chance he wasn't- he was one of the more likely Akatsuki members to be awake at odd hours, working on some manner of project- and what Sakura had in mind really couldn't be left any longer.

Stepping toward the polished stone door, Sakura reached her hand out toward its dull gray surface... and her hand stopped. Biting her lip, the former Leaf nin considered what she was doing- Deidara had already made it perfectly clear that he had absolutely no intentions of welcoming her.

But if she couldn't at least make an effort for him to accept her, it would be a very uncomfortable existence living here.

Holding her breath, she rapped lightly on the door.

For a few seconds, there was no response. However, just as she turned away from the door, a voice sounded from inside the room.

"Yeah, un?"

Sakura swallowed, hoping it hadn't been audible to the blonde bomber. "Deidara...? It's me. Sakura."

Silence. Then...

"What do you want, un?" The tone of voice was certainly not a happy one, but there was no overt hostility to be detected either, which Sakura took as an encouraging sign.

"I was hoping... we could have a discussion."

After a short pause, Deidara replied. "Alright, un. Door's unlocked."

Sakura gripped the heavy door and levered it open, stepping through into the room beyond.

* * *

Back in Konan and Sakura's room, Konan was beginning to stir. Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep out of her eye, she looked around, then, realized that someone was missing from the room.

Shrugging, the blue-haired woman slid a large,loose-fitting black shirt on over the navy pants and form-fitting black top she had worn to sleep. Walking to the door, she stepped through, shutting it behind her.

Setting off in the same direction that Sakura had only moments before, Konan arrived at the Akatsuki's "sitting room", as it was affectionately referred to by the other members.

Stepping inside, she was greeted by the only other occupant presently in the room- Tobi, seated on the floor, flipping through a comic book.

"Oh, hello Konan! Did you have a good sleep?"

Konan smiled. "Yes, Tobi, I did. Yourself?"

Tobi set down the comic, not realizing that he had the book close onto his page. "Oh, Tobi didn't sleep last night. Kisame challenged Tobi not to sleep at all, and Tobi is always up for a challenge!"

Konan sighed and shook her head, turning away from Tobi to search for the television remote. "Tobi, you know that's not healthy."

The masked ninja shrugged. "Oh well. Tobi doesn't win a lot of bets with Kisame, so..." Turning with a frown, Konan wondered why Tobi's voice had trailed off- only to see him slumped over the comic book, snoring softly.

Smiling to herself, Konan removed a blanket from the couch beside her and tucked it over Tobi's prone body. Settling back on the couch, she sighed contently. Then, finally alone with her thoughts, she began to ponder...

"Hmm... I wonder where Sakura is?"

* * *

Stepping inside Deidara's room, Sakura stopped short, unable to hide her astonishment at what the former Stone ninja was working on. Sitting in the corner of his room was a life-size clay sculpture. Although only just began, the mass of clay was clearly taking on a human form, and even as Sakura watched, Deidara began chipping away pieces from the area that would become the figure's head.

"So... what is it that you wanted, un?"

Sakura shook herself, tearing her attention away from the in-progress sculpture. Perching herself cross-legged on the artist's bed, she tried to form a response.

"Ah... well, I suppose I just wanted to... sort of clear the air between us."

A short, bark-like laugh erupted out of Deidara's mouth, and he didn't bother turning from his work. "I can assure you, it's going to be more difficult that that, un."

Sakura cast her eyes downward at the carpet. "I know that. I know I killed your partner, and I know there's really no reason that you should forgive me for it. But... whether either of us like it or not, I'm here to stay. So, I just want to make things as easy for both of us as I can."

Deidara lifted his hands from the lump of clay, and Sakura could see the hand that was clutching the chisel he had been working with was shaking slightly. "What you have to understand, un..." Sakura looked questioningly at him.

Deidara turned, looking at Sakura with the eye he didn't keep hidden beneath his blonde hair. "Sasori and I disagreed in many matters. Art, life, style, ninjutsu. There were times when I was tired of dealing with him.

"But, despite that, he was my teacher, and he was my friend. When you killed him, you took away the closest thing to a real family member I had. So forgive me if I can't just brush it off my shoulder and forget."

Sakura nodded, guilt piercing her heart. "I know. And I am sorry. I don't expect it to make any difference by telling you that it wasn't personal, because I know that's not an excuse. But-" she said, seeing that Deidara's interest was waning- "I'm not asking you to like me. All I ask is that you accept me, and try to let me bring myself back to your good books."

Deidara turned back to his sculpture and began chipping away more small pieces of clay. For a few moments, no one spoke. Sakura bowed her head.

"Fine, un."

The pink-haired ninja's head shot up. "Excuse me?"

Deidara turned back to her. "I can do that, un. I may not trust you, but... I trust Konan. She's a good judge of people, and if she considers you worth knowing, than I can at least hope you can prove it to me as well, un."

Sakura felt a lump rise in her throat. "Thank you... Deidara. I'll try my best to live up to your faith in me." The blonde simply nodded. Recognizing the dismissal, Sakura bowed and turned toward the door.

With one hand hovering over the doorknob, she paused and looked back one last time. "What is that statue going to be, when you've completed it?"

Deidara didn't turn, but his shoulders straightened a bit as she spoke. "Sasori. A piece of art that will never fade, but will remain on this earth, eternal. He would have liked it."

Sakura simply stood for a few seconds, then smiled warmly. "I'm sure he would have."

And, turning, the doorknob, she exited the room.

* * *

**Author's Note (as promised)**

**Mother of god, it has been FOREVER since I've written. I don't know if any of my old followers read these stories anymore, or even use this website at all, but... on the off chance they do, I am back.**

**For the last while (and by while, I mean... dear god, almost 2 years), my interest in writing fanfiction has become virtually nonexistent. However, as of the last few days, my interest has returned. I can't say why, or how it happened, but i can safely assume that yes, I will be continuing my writing, for the foreseeable future.**

**I've taken some time to look over my old stories, and have more or less established where I was at. There will no doubt be a slight inconsistency in my writing style, but I hope to keep my standard high, for the sake of those who are kind enough to read my work. **

**/author's note**

**As usual, feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	8. ANBU Near!

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

* * *

Almost a scene from a fairy tale; sun flitting down through the crisscrossing branches, a delicate-looking deer quietly munching its fill of assorted grass and other plants, the wind whistling through the surrounding trees and the bubbling of the small stream beside it being the only sounds to be heard in the picturesque clearing. Suddenly, the deer looked up with a start, eyes focused on the undergrowth- and without another motion, it pranced off into the dense foliage.

"I'm not surprised it heard you. You were never much for the quiet approach."

With a barely-audible _thud, _two figures dressed in the tan fatigues and distinctive animal masks of Leaf ANBU ninja dropped to the ground of the clearing in near-perfect synchronization. The pair straightened up slowly, turning to survey the surrounding area.

The ninja being singled-out, all features hidden by his pointy-eared dog mask but a head of messy brown hair, shrugged. "Subtlety is not one of my strong points." However, his nonchalant attitude apparently did not sit well with his partner, who turned and grabbed his arm as he made a move to walk away.

"These are the most dangerous ninja in the known world that we're tracking. If a deer can hear you coming, they'll know you're coming before we've gotten within 5 miles of where they are. I suggest you start taking things a little seriously." The raven-masked ninja's long dark hair swayed slightly in the breeze as he spoke. "I hope I don't have to remind you what's at stake here."

His teammate was silent for a split second, then reached up and slowly removed the other's hand from its grip on his upper arm. "I will NEVER forget what is at stake here."

Raven-mask nodded once, then knelt to the ground. Rotating his head side to side, he surveyed the ground, his efforts seeming fruitless at first; however, he perked up slightly, and pointed at a point some ten meters away, saying "Over there."

His companion softly walked in the direction indicated, stopping and bending down to inspect the soil at closer proximity. A footprint, barely visible, was tramped into the dirt at the point he crouched on.

"Alright, your turn now."

Dog-mask straightened, reaching up to his face. He slid the smooth white covering up just far enough to expose his mouth and nose-

Then inhaled deeply.

He breathed in several times, adjusting his face's orientation between breaths. After a few moments, he let his mask return to his place of rest and shook his head. "It's no good," he lamented. "The trail's gone."

His companion didn't move, but the slightest hint of a sigh passed through his lips. "Alright. We make for camp, re-establish communications with the others, and try again. We're not out of leads yet."

The other ANBU nodded, and the pair turned and departed the clearing, their thoughts too preoccupied with red clouds and pink hair to notice the figure observing them from the shadows, hidden behind a mask of his own.

* * *

Pain stood before a large stone table in one of the more well-lit caves of his temporary safe-house, posing over the contents of a scroll spread out on it. His attention hadn't wavered from it for hours, not even now, when an orange-masked figure stepped forward out of thin air to come to a rest on the floor of the chamber.

"What news, Tobi?"

The man took a step forward, noticing the scroll laid out on the table. "Konoha ANBU are getting pretty close, Leader-sama. At the rate they're going now, they'll have located us within two days, if that." Stepping forward once more, the masked ninja craned his neck, attempting to read the contents of the scroll over Pain's shoulders. However, in one smooth motion, Pain turned to face Tobi and the scroll slid off the table and vanished.

"So. They intend to locate us, and then what?"

Tobi shrugged. "Tobi hasn't been able to get close enough to their center of operations- too easy to be caught. Tobi would guess, though, that they'll try to take Cherry Blossom back to their village."

Pain closed his eyes. It was rather obvious that the ANBU were planning something to that effect, but Tobi's naiveté prevented him from coming to any distinct conclusions on his own. It was no more than he expected, really.

"Very well. Thank you, Tobi- relay this information to the others, firstly to Sakura herself, of course. Dismissed."

"Yes, Leader-sama." Tobi half turned to leave, then paused slightly. "Leader-sama…. about that scroll you were reading-"

"I said _dismissed, _Tobi."

With a small squeak at the venom that appeared in Pain's voice, Tobi took a step backward and slid slowly out of existence, as though he was a living image that had been brushed off of a chalkboard of empty air.

Alone once again, Pain reached inside his sleeve and pulled out the scroll Tobi had been so curious of, and reopened it.

The surface of the scroll was covered with letters, in no conceivable order than the Rain nin could decipher. However, this daunted him little- every code has a cipher, and every cipher can be broken.

It would simply take patience, and patience was something that Pain- especially over the last few years- had grown to have a great deal of.

* * *

Miles away, a small canvas tent was barely visible beneath the trees, surrounded by a ring of kanji-inscribed tags attached to the trees. No movement could be seen inside or outside the tent, but quite voices could be heard inside.

"There's been no sign of activity anywhere within 10 miles. We're running out of options." The voice of the raven-masked ninja could be heard.

A short pause, then his dog-masked companion: "They're here, somewhere nearby. I know it. My nose doesn't lie."

"Well, regardless, we can't keep this investigation up without results. And you know what the alternative is, if we return without results."

"You don't have to remind me. We'll find them, and when we find them, we'll find her."

A third voice, female this time, interjected. "Even if we do find them, that's the last of our problems. Lady Tsunade herself has already tried to make Sakura come back, and she refused. No one in Konoha is held in higher regard by Sakura than Tsunade."

At this, the smallest of exhales could be heard from the raven-masked ANBU. "I know. But we have our mission, let's carry it out."

* * *

Pain was pacing through his softly-lit chamber, slightly shaking his head. This scroll had withstood all conventional methods of interpreting its contents. Clearly, the Leaf ninja had taken much stronger precautions with guarding the secrets within than most of their intel.

But that was of no concern to Pain- if anything, it only resolved his desire to find out what it contained.

And Pain was nothing if not patient.

Behind him, the rock floor of the cave rippled impossibly, as though the stone had become liquid and a solid object had been dropped through. The fluctuating surface parted slightly and a dull gray-brown Venus flytrap shape emerged, opening as it rose to expose the heterochromatic head of Zetsu.

"**Leaf ANBU activity in the area has been increasing in frequency, and their searches have become much more frantic." **"I honestly have trouble believing that they're only here to take Sakura, because the extent to which they're searching betrays a much more intense purpose."

Pain nodded slowly. "I've considered the possibility, yes- along with many, many others. But the fact of the matter is that this isn't out main fortress, and they couldn't even know the existence of it at all, at least not until this event occurred. I simply can't think of anything that could be their objective, outside of Sakura."

Zetsu may have sighed; displays of emotion were difficult to discern from him, particularly his dark half. "I can't either, which is concerning." **"I think we'll have to assume that returning Haruno is a much more important objective than any of us could have imagined. The implications of that, and whether it should worry us, remain to be seen."**

Pain straightened slightly. "Very well. Increase your monitoring of our perimeter, and maintain a report cycle of once every three hours. Report to Konan if possible; I'll need time to study this scroll."

Zetsu glanced impassively at the parchment spread over the table, then looked away. "Cryptography was never my strong point-" **"So you'll forgive me if I'd prefer to not have anything to do with this situation."**

Pain nodded.

"Dismissed."

* * *

Sakura was seated in what she had come to refer to as the Akatsuki "common area", the large cavern that most of the members tended to frequent when other things to occupy themselves were few and far between. Currently, she was alone in doing so, as the day was only about half over, and the others were almost entirely occupied by either assignment or food.

Her nose buried in a book, Sakura was largely tuning out the outside world, attempting to lose herself inside fantasy for a few blissful moments of relief from reality. However, even the haze of inattention she had constructed for herself couldn't cause her to miss the appearance of Tobi onto the couch directly beside her, and she jumped despite herself, sending her book spiraling to the ground.

"Fuck, Tobi! What do I always tell you about giving people some warning? Common courtesy, please."

Tobi tilted his head to one side, and when he next spoke, his voice carried a slight note of sadness. "Tobi is sorry, Blossom-chan…. he just had something very important to tell you, so he had to hurry over here."

Sakura felt her slight burst of annoyance face at the sound of the masked ninja's voice, and set her tone to be more soothing when she spoke next. "I'm sorry, Tobi, I shouldn't have snapped at you- it's not your fault." Seeing him perk up, Sakura set retrieved her book from the floor where it had fallen. "Now, what's so important?"

Tobi tilted his head again, this time forward; almost as though he meant to whisper the news to Sakura, although his mask was so thick that any whispering would have been completely inaudible to her.

"Leader-sama ordered Tobi to inform you that he's sighted Leaf ANBU canvassing the area around the hideout, and he thinks they're going to try to take you back."

"What's this about ANBU?" a rough voice asked.

Tobi and Sakura both turned toward the door as Kisame and Itachi walked into the space- Kisame wearing his trademark toothed grin, Itachi looking as impassive as ever.

"Tobi just said that ANBU are coming to try and take Blossom-chan back to their village." Tobi said quietly- Kisame was one of the more intimidating members of the Akatsuki to the bravest of people, and his effect on Tobi was extremely evident when they spoke face-to-face.

Kisame simply threw himself down onto one of the stools beside the tall table that served as a makeshift "bar" that Kakuzu had constructed, the wood creaking loudly in protest as his bulk was suddenly thrown upon its rickety frame. "I'd welcome them with bared teeth, if they came anywhere nearby." He reached out and grabbed Sakura's shoulder, the slightly rough display of affection he had taken to using after Konan had strongly objected to the much more violent greetings he normally employed when meeting the other male members of the organization.

Sakura smiled in spite of herself, then turned back to the door as a familiar sense touched her mind. Her smile deepened as Konan stepped across the threshold, smiling back at her. In the few weeks since Konoha, the paper kunoichi's recovery had been magnificent; although she was prone to the occasional bout of weakness when utilizing her ninjutsu to the absolute limit, she was very nearly back to her old self.

"Don't worry, Sakura" she walked toward the group and slid her hand down Sakura's arm as she sat down next to her. "You've got me, there's nothing to worry about."

Sakura smiled and squeezed her lover's hand, replying "I know."

"Miss Haruno?"

Sakura turned to the source of the voice, and wasn't surprised to see Kakuzu standing in the doorway- he'd always been stiflingly formal when it came to matters about her.

"Yes, Kakuzu?"

The masked nin shifted slightly. "I wondered if I could speak to you. Privately."

The slightest of frowns creased Sakura's face, sentiment that was returned in Konan's sense. "Of course, Kakuzu- shall we go to my room?"

"That would be excellent."

* * *

Inside Sakura's room, Kakuzu turned and slowly eased the door shut, then turned back to the pinkette ninja.

"I don't meant to alarm you, Miss Haruno-"

Sakura held up her hand with an exasperated smile. "Kakuzu, I've told you time and time again- call me Sakura, please."

"Very well... Sakura, I don't mean to alarm you, but as you know, I've been out on assignment for the last few days. Being as such, I can't help but have seen an increased amount of ANUB activity. Not only that-" he continued, as he saw Sakura about to interject that none of this was new information "From my _research, _if you will, I'm now aware that a good number of them are companions of yours from your days in Konoha."

Sakura sat back in her chair, keeping her face impassive. "I appreciate your concern, Kakuzu, but I think I'll be alright. My attachment to Konoha faded when they spurned me for who I was."

Kakuzu looked her in the eyes, one set of brilliant green eyes boring into another, so different pair. "I don't think you understand, Miss Ha- Sakura. The ANBU activity I've been seeing is far too prevalent- there are far too many of them for this to be nothing but a simple personnel retrieval. Not only that, but their specializations are diverse enough to make me suspect that getting you back is not their only agenda."

Sakura nodded, determined not to undermine the confidence Kakuzu had just showed her. "Thank you, Kakuzu. I'll stay vigilant."

The ex-Waterfall nin nodded, and turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, Sakura spoke once more.

"Also, Kakuzu?"

He turned back to her. "Yes, Sakura?"

She smiled. "Thank you. You're a loyal friend."

His stature didn't change; but for a split second, his dark skin darkened even further in what may have conceivably been a blush. "Thank you, Sakura."

And without another word, the pair left the small cave room and went to rejoin their companions.

* * *

Back in Pain's chamber, the Rain nin had finally reached a point where the contents of Sakura's scroll could be read. Reading carefully, his eyes slowly slid down the length of the paper-

Then stopped abruptly.

The Akatsuki leader's Rinnegan widened, just barely, as he re-read the sentence again, to ensure he wasn't wrong. Then without another word, he rolled up the scroll and left the room.

The passage he had just read burned bright in his mind: "Subject is highly-placed in the hierarchy of Konoha's most important operations, and has resisted all efforts to return her to her home. Therefore, termination is authourized."

He and Tobi had been wrong. The ANBU weren't coming to retrieve Sakura, after all.

* * *

**Reviews and Feedback are appreciated, as usual.**


	9. Revelation

**Obligatory non-ownership disclaimer.**

* * *

"Konan…"

"Mmmm…. yes, love?"

"No, I'm serious, stop for a secaaaagggghhhhhh-"

Konan raised her head to look at Sakura's face and licked her lips, smiling. "What is it, my blossom?" Her hand slowly slid down Sakura's flat stomach and came to a rest between her legs.

"I justnnnnnggg, no, I'm- gah- serious, I hear something." Sakura strained to pull her senses away from Konan's "attention", sweat beading down her forehead, her breath laboured. "Do you hear that?"

Konan straightened and licked her fingers, eyes defocusing slightly as she listened for the sound Sakura was referring to. At first, she detected nothing; then, a slight noise caught her attention. It was too quiet to identify, too far-off, but it immediately set off quiet alarm bells in Konan's mind. "I hear it now." Konan swung her legs off of Sakura's bed and stood, pulling her Akatsuki cloak over her as she did.

Sakura was still lying on her bad, panting slightly, but her attention was now on the mysterious sound. Sitting up, she reached for her own cloak with slightly shaky hands, and pulled it around her shoulders. "Should we go find out what it is?"

Konan was silent, trying to identify what the sound was, and what about it had set her so at unease. "Chances are it's nothing," she said, trying to push the alarms ringing in her head out of her mind. "Tobi doing something idiotic, or Hidan hurting himself. The sound was louder now: a quiet _tap tap tap. _

Sakura looked at her uneasily, and Konan could tell that her constructed confidence wasn't fooling the pink-haired kunoichi. "Although, I suppose it wouldn't be a terrible idea."

Konan walked out the door into the long hallway, Sakura following just behind. The late-afternoon sun was flitting in through one of the disguised windows along the hallway; they'd spent quite a bit more time in Sakura's room than she thought. Konan smirked to herself slightly at the thought, in spite of herself. Suddenly, a door at the end of the hall swung open, and Pin strode out. His ringed eyes focused on the pair and widened.

"Konan! Sakura! Get ou-"

With a quiet _plink, _a small piece of the rock wall to Sakura's left detached and fell to the floor. Instinctively, she swung toward the noise, hands raised into a combat stance. Before she could do any more than register the small opening that had been bored into the cliff wall, straight to the outside, a tiny black blur shot through it and planted itself squarely into the opposite wall.

Glancing over, Konan saw that the object was a very small, thin kunai, trailing a piece of paper. Her eyes widened, and even as she spread her arms, paper slips beginning to detach themselves from her arms, the tag began to sizzle. "Sakura!" she screamed, pulling the pinkette close to her. Then, the blast hit.

* * *

Pain watched helplessly as the explosive tag buried itself in the wall and began to sizzle; then, with a blast far bigger he expected from the small size of the tag, it detonated. The shockwave threw Pain backward into the wall behind him, and he slammed against the stone with a dull thud. Shaking himself, he stood up.

The smoke cleared, revealing a scene of complete devastation. The wall of the cavern had been torn open completely, exposing the interior of the cave, like the skin of a peeled fruit. Sakura's room was visible in the wreckage, her bed and few other belongings scatter throughout piles of crumpled stone. Scanning the wreckage, Pain located what he had been expecting to find: a shell of burnt, twisted paper. Konan had thrown up a barrier around her and Sakura, but it had been too hurried, too makeshift. Even as he watched, the side of the shield collapsed in on itself, and Konan pushed her way out, followed by Sakura. Both had suffered burns from the explosion, but looked none the worse for wear. Sakura immediately began healing the nastiest-looking of Konan's burns as she stood there, one arm draped over her blue-haired lover's shoulder.

About 5 meters away, a squad of ninja emerged from the trees. All were masked in the animalistic manner of Black Ops ninja, but their garb was familiar enough to Sakura; the Leaf ANBU had located the Akatsuki hideout. Steadying herself against Konan, she took a shaky step forward.

"Listen to me, very carefully." she said, loudly but firmly. "I know you're here for me, and you can tell Lady Tsunade the same thing I told her the last time we interacted: I am not returning to the Leaf, so she may as well stop wasting her time."

The foremost ANBU- the captain of the group, Sakura judged- stepped forward to address her. Before he spoke, he lifted his mask, a likeness of a crow's face. Sakura regarded the face the was unveiled with slight recognition; the steely-grey, deceptively sleepy looking eyes, the black hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Sakura." Shikamaru's voice sounded just as composed, just as uninterested-sounding as usual; and yet, the slight note of pleading in his voice rang through to Sakura like the striking of a gong. "I'm asking you again. Not as an ANBU captain, not as a ninja of Konoha- as your friend. Please, come home." Slightly behind him, to his left, another of the ANBU bowed her head, her long, pale blonde hair waving slightly as her body shook with barely-controlled emotion.

Sakura's face didn't waver. "I'm sorry, Shikamaru- I know you don't believe me when I say it, but I truly am. Konoha has nothing left for me. My answer hasn't changed."

Shikamaru closed his eyes, and for just a moment, it looked like the emotional barriers that he'd so carefully constructed for himself would crumble. "Very well." Opening his eyes, the illusion was gone, and he was all-business Shikamaru Nara once again. "Then, by executive order of the Lady Tsunade, Fifth Hokage of the Land of Fire, I hereby order your immediate execution, on grounds of protecting the intelligence assets and well-being of the Land of Fire." He lifted his hand and swept it downward, in a smooth motion. Sakura's eyes widened in shock at his words, her throat tightening; Lady Tsunade had ordered her killed?

Suddenly, the rubble surrounding Konan and Sakura was engulfed in smoke. Konan shouted in shock as the piles of debris disappeared, replaced by swelling swarms of beetles. Before she or Sakura could do any more than stand up, the cloud had engulfed them, blocking all view of the outside.

Pain snapped, diving forward toward the cloud of beetles, hands outstretched. The other Paths were on their way, and in the meantime, his own Almighty Pus would be more than adequate to disperse the beetles.

Between him, the rocks shifted. A blurred form shot out, speeding directly toward him. He shifted his attention to the incoming threat, bringing his hand around to push him away, but the figure closed the distance almost impossibly fast. Pain's arm was only aimed a few degrees off, but at this distance, it made all the difference.

Neji Hyuga shot toward Pain, his outstretched hand alight with pale blue chakra. Thrusting forward, he slammed his open palm against the Akatsuki leader's chest.

_8 Trigrams: Palm Cannon!_

With a sharp _crack _and an outpouring of chakra, Pain was launched backward. Hitting the ground hard, he skidded backward, coming to rest on one knee. However, as he straightened to retaliate, he felt a hand touch his head. His eyes widened.

"Got it." Behind him, Ino was grasping his scalp, her eyes closed behind her mask. A thread of blue chakra shot out of her forehead and sped toward Shikamaru, arcing and zigzagging through the air. As it hit the side of Shikamaru's head and sunk in, his eyes flew open.

"Alright, I've got him." Forming four hand signs in quick succession, Shikamaru sank into a wide pool of blackness that was expanding beneath him, and disappeared. Ino opened her eyes and let go of Pain's head. The Akatsuki leader's Rinnegan narrowed dangerously, and he extended his chakra spear.

Without warning, his eyes widened. He held his arms out in front of him, blinking wildly. His arms shook. Then, without a sound, the multitudes of black piercings adorning his body all shattered in perfect unison, the tiny black shards hitting the ground, then melting away into nothingness.

Pain's mouth fell open, a trickle of blood leaking out over his bottom lip. Silently, he fell forward onto the ground.

* * *

Inside the storm of beetles, Sakura screamed in frustration as Konan was pulled away from her by the mass of tiny, chakra-filled bodies. Growling with anger, she tried to reach for her beloved's hand, but found herself unable to move. Her face and arms were dotted with beetles, their chakra infusing with hers to restrict her movement. A soft grunt from outside of her view told her that Konan was suffering the same treatment.

In front of her, a particularly large clump of insects massed together, and the upper body of Shino Aburame emerged from it. He regarded her with pity- or, at least, as close to pity as the apathetic Shinobi could experience.

"I apologize, Sakura. I have my orders. We'll meet you again in the afterlife… farewell." Raising a hand, he placed the point of a kunai that had extended from his sleeve directly against her bare throat. Paralyzed by beetles, Sakura couldn't move or respond; unable to even close her eyes, she simply stood there, immobilized, waiting for death.

Suddenly, a giant wave engulfed the swarm. The beetles were driven mad by the water, scattering, their weighted-down wings becoming useless by the water clinging to them. Discovering that she could move again, Sakura grabbed Shino's extended arm with both hands and bent, viciously. With a sickening crack, his arm snapped at the joint. No sound escaped his lips, although a grimace of pain slashed across his face as he leaped backward, coming to a rest beside Ino, Neji, and the other three masked ANBU. Ino moved beside him and began quickly setting his broken arm.

Blinking wildly, Sakura looked around. Silhouetted against the low-lying evening sun, Kisame stood atop a broken peak of stone, his left arms extended, his right gripping Samehada's handle. "I hope you hadn't planned on that party you send to stop us from interfering to actually be successful… you would have had to send an army of them just to make it a fair fight" he grinned menacingly. Beside him, Hidan strode into view, his body black and covered in white tattoos, his scythe adorned with bloody, tattered Leaf headbands. Deidara and Tobi emerged around the other side of the cliff, their robes torn and dirty, but otherwise unharmed.

Neji's hand snapped into his distinctive combat posture. "Shino, you and Kiba engage the blonde one and his partner. The rest of you, take the shark and the immortal; I'll deal with Haruno." However, as he spoke, the ground beneath the group burst open, and a mass of thin, black, thread-like tentacles shot out. Spreading through the group of Leaf ninja, they grabbed for any body part they could reach, causing turmoil.

Kiba and Shino only just escaped the onslaught of tentacles, but they were badly off-balance by the attack; even as they turned to face Hidan and Kisame, Hidan's scythe carved a path directly through Kiba's body, slicing him almost completely in two. A murderous growl ripped through the air, and Akamaru leaped at Hidan, knocking him to the ground and burying his long teeth into the silver-haired man's throat.

Shino swung around and barely dodged a mass of Deidara's exploding clay that shot at him, detonating against the hillside behind him. As his beetles surged forward, coating the explosive ninja and neutralizing his clay, Deidara swore violently. "You buggy little shit, I will tear you into tiny little-" his threat was cut off abruptly as Tobi grabbed his arm, and with a _pop, _they disappeared, reappearing a small distance away, toward the battle between Kakuzu and the other ninja.

The group engulfed in Kakuzu's tentacles were hacking and slashing with whatever they could, desperately trying to fend off the relentless assault. Kakuzu's tentacles trapped Ino with terrifying speed and strength, and before she could even scream, the Waterfall rogue ninja snapped her neck like a pencil. Neji swiped viciously at the threads grabbing for him, his chakra-infused hands slicing through and burning the trailing threads.

With a burst of speed, he threw himself through the air, angling himself fly in Sakura's direction. Landing lightly on the stone, he thrust his palm out; Sakura blocked it with her own chakra-charged fist. But the influence of Shino's beetles had taken its toll, and her strength had been sapped too much to face the prodigy of the Hyuga clan. Neji continued his assault, driving his hands into her chakra points. Konan screamed helplessly, but she was unable to move beyond helplessly pulling herself toward them, foot by foot.

A quiet _shlick _split the air. Neji's Byakugan widened, and he looked down, his chest heaving. The point of a kunai was protruding from his torso, blood soaking through his chest garment.

"Your eyes are weak."

Itachi stood behind Neji, his Sharingan glittering. The Hyuga shuddered once, then dropped to his knees. His pale eyes clouded over, blood running in lines from the corners of his mouth. He died without falling, his body still kneeling on the ground before Sakura. The pink-haired ninja straightened shakily, then turned to Konan. Sakura saw her kneeling on the ground, unable to stand, and immediately fell to the ground beside her and began healing her. Once Konan had regained enough energy to stand, Sakura stood once again, and turned to survey the area.

The entire side of the mountain housing the Akatsuki hideout had been blown out by the assault, exposing various rooms of the stronghold. Hidan was picking his way through the rubble, before bending down and extracting his scythe from beneath a few large pieces of stone. As he turned, Sakura was shocked to see his left arm was missing entirely.

Kakuzu was standing a few meters away, his threads slowly moving back into his body. Sakura walked toward him, but before she got there, her foot bumped against something soft.

Looking down, she saw that she had run into Ino's dead body. Her eyes were wide, her mouth just barely open, her head bent at an impossible angle to her body. Sakura's face was impassive, but a single tear rolled down her cheek. Kneeling down, she kissed her fingers and pressed them against Ino's forehead, then slid her eyes closed.

Sakura, Itachi and Konan reached Kakuzu at the same time as Hidan. The immortal's throat was ripped open and his arm was missing, but neither injury seemed to trouble him, besides the occasional curse at flies attempting to settle on the stump of his arm, or slight difficulty speaking. A crunch from behind them made Sakura turn around to see Deidara walking toward the group, carrying Kisame's body. Entire pieces of his flesh were missing, looking as though they'd been gnawed away. Sakura's stomach heaved at the realization that those parts most likely had been eaten away, by Shino's beetles.

Deidara set Kisame gently on the ground and slid his eyes shut. "He was gone by the time I got to him." Straightening up, the explosive ninja looked around at the others. "Tobi's gone, un." he half sighed. "I don't know if he's dead, or just gone. But he's gone."

Kakuzu shook his head. "Tobi's a lot harder to kill than he seems. I'm willing to bet that he's alive, somewhere." He glanced at the gathered figured, confused realization spreading across what was visible of his face. "Wait… where is-?" Konan interrupted his question with a piercing scream. She half-ran, half-threw herself toward something she'd spotted on the ground. Sakura and Kakuzu followed her.

They found her seated on the ground, cradling Pain's head in her arms. Her slender fingers traced the holes in his skin where his piercings had been, and her tear-soaked face turned white as freshly fallen snow. "He's gone."

Kakuzu closed his eyes. "So, that's it, then. The Akatsuki are finished." Turning to Deidara and Itachi, who had followed them over, he motioned to the body. Hidan was seated on the ground, legs crossed, murmuring some prayer to his masochistic god, his skin fading back to its normal colour. Itachi, Deidara and Kakuzu were conversing in low voices, discussing their own private thoughts. Konan was holding Pain's hand, tears pouring openly down her face. Sakura stood there silently, swaying back and forth slightly, gazing off into the distance.

"I need to ask you all something." The others turned to look at her. Sakura continued to stare off into the sky as she spoke, as though she was in come kind of trance. "Today, those ANBU said that I was ordered executed by Lady Tsunade, a woman who has been almost a mother to me for years. I don't know whether she ordered it, and I know the Leaf is no longer my home… I need to know the truth." She turned her gaze to her companions, shaken from her trance-like state. "I'm not asking any of you to go with me, and there's a good chance no one would come back alive. But you may be my only chance of finding my answers."

Konan stared at her, her silver eyes wide, tear tracks glistening on her face. After only a second or two of hesitation, Kakuzu stepped forward. "You became one of us the moment you stepped into this stronghold and agreed to heal a strange woman, without complaint, because it was the virtuous thing to do. And, as odd as it sounds to hear talks on virtue from a criminal like me, the fact remains: I'm coming with you, my friend." He placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder.

Itachi followed suit. "You stand for something this organization has been lacking for a long time. And even though the Akatsuki is finished, I will do what I can to ensure you continue to bloom into the future."

Deidara was the next to step forward. "When you first arrived with us, I blamed and hate you for a matter you had no say in. Think of this as my recompense, un." He flashed her a grin, and she couldn't help but smile back. "Besides," he added, staring pointedly at Hidan and his missing arm, "If nothing else, this gives me an opportunity to bite back at those Leaf bastards."

Hidan roared with laughter. "Now you're talking my language, blondie!" He swung his scythe around in the air, but suddenly swayed and nearly fell; only by burying his scythe blade into the ground did he steady himself enough to remain upright. "Fucking arm is throwing off my balance. Hey, I don't suppose anyone could do something about this damn thing?"

Kakuzu grunted and pulled back his sleeve, his stitched arm rippling as he extended a small portion of his threads. "Alright, where's the arm?

"Oh, it's long fucking gone."

There was a brief pause from Kakuzu. "…what?"

"There's nothing left of the fucking thing. Cocksucking Aburame bugs ate the whole goddamn arm, bone and all. Little shit got away, too.

Kakuzu punched Hidan in the chest. "You fucking idiot. What do you expect me to do without an arm to stitch back on?"

"I don't fucking know! I just figured I'd fucking ask in case fucking someone could fucking help out!"

"I can't just grow an arm inside of me and pull it out of my ass, Hidan."

"Fuck off."

Ignoring the immortal duo's colourful debate, Sakura knelt down beside Konan, who still had Pain's head resting on her lap, and ran a hand through her blue hair. "I'm not asking you to come with me. It'll be dangerous, and chances are I won't come back. But I have to go."

Konan's lip quivered slightly, and he shoulders shook. Then, without warning, she swung her hand out and smacked Sakura across the face. Sakura jerked back, stunned, and held her hand against her cheek. Tears were forming in Konan's eyes again, and she grabbed Sakura's shoulders, pulling her roughly toward her.

"Don't you even THINK about leaving me! We're going together, and that's that." Sakura clenched her teeth, feeling tears of her own welling up in her eyes. Grabbing Konan's shoulders, she crashed her lips against the blue-haired ninja's, locking them together. Hidan glanced over and saw them, his jaw dropping slightly, until Deidara straight-arming him in the chest distracted him.

Finally, Sakura and Konan broke apart. The sun was just beginning to set as Sakura rose from the ground.

"Hidan, I'll cauterize your shoulder and patch up your throat. Then, let's get some sleep; we hit Konoha tomorrow, before sunrise. Prepare yourselves."

* * *

**It's been a long time, I've been writing a lot on my other story The Newcomer, but I started to miss this storyline.**

**As always, reviews are appreciated!**


	10. Perception

**Obligatory non-ownership disclaimer.**

* * *

The trees below were little more than a muddled green-and-brown blur, barely visible through the darkness of the night; and even if they had been more distinguishable, Sakura was too preoccupied to take any significant notice. Her mind was swirling with questions, fears, and uncertainties; and underneath it all boiled a steady undercurrent of anger. Anger at the deaths of Pain and Kisame, anger at her former friends, and most of all, anger at the idea of Tsunade ordering her dead.

Driven by her feelings, Sakura began outracing her companions, and they were forced to increase their pace multiple times to ensure that she didn't leave them behind. Finally, Konan caught up to her pink-haired lover and grabbed her arm. "Sakura, stop for a minute!"

The pinkette obeyed, the panting escaping her lips caused more by the multitude of emotions than by any stretch of fatigue she happened to be feeling. Konan leaned her forehead against Sakura's, concern in her eyes. "Sakura, listen to me. I know you're angry, and you have every right to be. But just rushing in and trying to take all of your feelings out through force is only going to cause more pain for you." She gripped Sakura's hand tightly. "You need to slow down, and start thinking rationally." Sakura, recognizing both the wisdom in the words and the underlying concern beneath them, nodded in agreement. Kissing the blue-haired kunoichi on the forehead, she squeezed her hand in reply.

"Thank you, Konan." Turning, she set off again, keeping to a much more measured pace as her whirlwind of emotion swirled to a halt. The Leaf ANBU had killed her friends, it was true; but they had been under orders to do so. Up until recently, Sakura herself would have contentedly followed through on an order to slay any member of the group of dangerous rogue ninja that she now counted as friends, even family. Just the fact that her perception had changed meant nothing to her former home. The Akatsuki were still their foes, just as much as she herself now was.

When she first came to the Akatsuki, Deidara hated her for her slaying of Sasori, one of the only people he had ever felt kinship with, even though she had been under orders to do so. He had realized the error of his hatred, and made peace with her; she could surely do the same, at least for now. And as for Tsunade's order for her execution… hopefully, she'd have her answers before the day was out. For better, or for worse.

The black of night was fading slowly to grey as Sakura sensed that they had come close enough. Signalling to the others, she dropped down into the shadows of the trees, her companions following her.

"Alright" she said, as the pre-dawn light began to creep into the forest. "The Leaf village is protected by an energy barricade that detects intruders, and instantaneously alerts both the ANBU and the Hokage herself." She paced back and forth as she spoke, feeling slightly as though she was briefing troops before a great battle. "In this case, thankfully, stealth isn't our aim, so the barrier won't be the hugest concern. If anything, it might make it easier to draw Lady Tsunade out."

Hidan cracked his neck. "So, you're aiming to catch the attention of your old bitch teacher. I assume we're going to be on the duty of 'fuck lots of shit up and cause assorted mayhem', which basically makes us cannon fodder. " Sakura nodded uncertainly. "Alright, perfect! Just how I like it."

Sakura looked around at each of her companions in turn: Hidan, displaying his usual careless bloodlust and excitement at the prospect of a bloody battle; Itachi, calm as always, his blood-red eyes shining in the pale light; Kakuzu, his face invisible behind his mask, threads barely visible as they bristled out from underneath his cloak; Deidara, his hand mouths visibly gnashing their teeth in anticipation, he lips pursed; and finally, Konan. Her lidded eyes were clouded with fear, but also shining with determination, her mouth set in a thin, hard line.

Sakura swallowed once, allowing herself one final expression of uncertainty, before pushing out all feelings of doubt and concern. The ritual had become a regular undertaking for her before more important or risky ops, purging any detrimental emotions from her body. "The barrier starts about twenty feet in that direction. This is it: once we start, we don't stop."

"Go."

* * *

"Lady Tsunade! Lady Tsunade! The barrier surrounding the village has been breached?"

"Rogue ninja, approaching the village at high speeds. ANBU squads C-H, move to intercept. Black Ops squads A and B will remain here to defend the Lady Hokage!"

The Hokage's tower was a site of carefully controlled chaos, a hornet's nest of ninja and administrative workers running throughout its many corridors and rooms. In the midst of it all, Tsunade was walking through the crowded hallways, Shikamaru at her side.

"Lady Hokage-"

"I know. I've expected this ever since Shino reported that the task force had been destroyed."

Forgetting himself for the slightest second, Shikamaru reached out and grabbed Tsunade's arm. The older woman turned to look dangerously at him, and he froze; however, he rushed on. "You realize that you are almost certainly her target, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade nodded, her eyes closed. "I'm aware, Shikamaru. But I am still the Hokage, and I must be present in the defence of the village. If Sakura truly wants me" Her eyes opened, and for a split second Shikamaru thought he saw a flicker of pain flash through her eyes. "She can try and come and get me. I welcome it."

Shikamaru nodded shortly. "Yes, Lady Tsunade."

The Hokage's eyes turned hard. "One thingbefore you go, Shikamaru- have the former members of Team 7 report to me. If they resist," she raised her voice, noting the shadow ninja about to interject, "Make it clear it is an executive order from the Hokage."

Shikamaru closed his mouth and nodded again. "Yes, Lady Tsunade." Without another word, he disappeared into a pool of shadow.

* * *

"Hit him again! Again!"

Hidan laughed maniacally, unperturbed by the volley of shuriken that had buried themselves throughout his torso and arms. "Hit me again, then, motherfuckers- see how much good it'll do you!"

One masked ANBU ninja seemed prepared to take Hidan up on his challenge, as he swung down from the gate before which the fight was taking place. Landing lightly, he pounced at the immortal, unsheathing his katana with a sharp, grating sound. Suddenly, a small white object hurtled at him from the trees, and the figure exploded spectacularly. Deidara dropped down from the limb he had stood upon, hand mouths chewing furiously, preparing more of his deadly explosive clay.

Swinging his arms out in front of him, a flurry of small clay doves shot out toward the walls of the village. A series of explosions shook the village, great chunks of masonry falling down onto the streets beyond. Screams began ringing through the town, villagers running in panic from the besieged front gates.

Hidan leaped and landed beside Deidara, grinning and shouting challenges at the ANBU. Under cover of his banter, he quietly asked Deidara: 'Have the others headed into this fucking hole yet?"

The blonde nodded once. "Itachi and Sakura and taking the lead. Konan and Kakuzu are following, since they're more or less useless when it comes to navigating the village." As he spoke, one of his bombs exploded a bit more forcefully than he'd anticipated, and sent a great pillar of stone hurtling at him and Hidan. Trying to dodge, Deidara braced himself for the impact-

But none came. Opening his eyes, Deidara saw with a shock that the massive chunk of rock had disappeared. Even as he frantically looked left and right, wondering what could have possibly happened, a figure stepped out of thin air in front of him and waved. "Hello, Deidara-sempai!"

"Tobi!" the explosive ninja cried, half in frustration, half in some form of strangled relief. The relief was short-lived, however, as a wave of Leaf ninja leaped down from the crumbling walls. Realizing that Deidara's bombs would completely decimate the structure soon, they had finally decided to bring the fight to the Akatsuki. Deidara only had time to brace himself for a second before the assault crashed over him like a tidal wave.

* * *

An explosion shook the village, causing Kakuzu to look up, frowning slightly behind his mask. "I didn't expect Deidara to engage this quickly, or this violently. This doesn't sit well with me." Beside him, Konan was walking in silence, her eyes on the back of Sakura's head as she slowly kept step with Itachi, both threading their way through the familiar alleys and side-streets of Konoha with extreme care.

Itachi held up a hand and gestured for the others to stop. "The Hokage's tower is directly ahead. Two Black Ops squads are stationed outside, preventing access to the main entrance; you might be hard-pressed to get inside." he looked at his companions. "I'd say this is the end of the line for us." Outside the alley, partially shielded by a low half-wall hiding the Akatsuki members from view, Sakura could see the Hokage's plaza, dotted with fully-geared Black Ops ninja. Behind it, the polished white stone of the Hokage's tower glittered in the early morning sun.

Kakuzu nodded, shrugging off his Akatsuki cloak. "As good a day to die as any, I suppose." Flexing his muscular arms, his stitches burst open, his masses of twisted black threads emerging like hungry snakes searching for prey.

Sakura bit her lip, looking at them both, suddenly realizing what this meant: both of these men were prepared to fight, and more likely die, for the sake of her personal vendetta. "Kakuzu… Itachi… I-" Kakuzu placed a finger over her lips, silencing her.

"It's alright. I'm prepared to do this. You have a full life ahead of you, I've lived more than my fair share of full lives as it is." Itachi said nothing, but his face said it all: he had no more intentions of backing out than Kakuzu. "Go get your answers, Sakura."

A lump rose in Sakura's throat. "Thank you. Thank you both." Wiping away a single tear that had trickled out of her eye despite herself, Sakura gripped first Kakuzu's, then Itachi's hand in a gesture of farewell. "I owe you both."

Kakuzu didn't reply, but he shared a significant glance with Itachi at her words. Then, he turned away, his tendrils burrowing into the ground where he stood. Itachi turned likewise, his body transforming into a small school of crows as he turned. Without warning, the ground in front of the Hokage's tower exploded, scattering ANBU ninja like discarded paper in a strong breeze. Taking a deep breath, Kakuzu leaped from the safety of the alley and engaged the Black Ops, casting them about the plaza with his tendrils. A few Jonin stationed on the front stairs of the tower readied their weapons, but were suddenly enveloped by a swarm of crows. Without warning, one of the ninja's crumpled bodies skidded down the stairs, leaving a crimson trail of blood in its wake.

Hidden in the alleyway, Konan and Sakura listened to the sounds of battle intensifying radically, and the muffled explosions coming from the gates. Konan breathed out, a long breath, and looked at Sakura. "Even with Itachi and Kakuzu are distracting the ANBU, we're going to have a fair bit of trouble getting ourselves inside without being stopped."

Sakura nodded, bending down to the ground, one palm placed into the first. "That's why WE'RE not going to." Konan pursed her eyebrows in confusion, but just as she was about to ask, the ground in front of the pair rippled, and a familiar venus flytrap-shaped covering emerged.

"Are you ready, Sakura?" White Zetsu asked, opening his plant covering. Black Zetsu was silent.

"I am." Sakura knelt down beside the head and shoulders of Zetsu where they emerged from the ground. "Can you transport us both at once? We won't get a second chance at this."

Zetsu nodded, his plant-like exterior growing wider, spreading to more than twice its normal size. "Both of you step inside, and I can take the two of you at once." **"Hold tight." **Konan and Sakura huddled close to Zetsu as his bloom closed around them and darkness took hold. For a few brief seconds, there was silence. Then, with a rushing sound, Zetsu opened his shield, and Sakura and Konan were expelled out into the open air.

They found themselves in the Hokage's office, directly across the room from Tsunade's desk. Four Jonin- two on either side of the desk- reacted almost instantaneously, hurling a flurry of small, wickedly-pointed blades toward the trio. Sakura's chakra wings erupted out of her back, wrapping around her and Konan, blowing books from shelves and statuettes from pedestals. A bust of the First Hokage shattered as it fell to the floor.

Outside their protective chakra shell, Sakura heard a sharp grunt of pain from Zetsu. Opening her wings as the assault subsided, she only just caught a glimpse of the two-coloured ninja gingerly pulling a blade out of the side of his face, before he slowly slid down into the stone floor. He was never seen by either Sakura or Konan again.

The Jonin surrounding Sakura realized their first strike had failed; they had no chance at launching a second. At a swift gesture from Konan, a cloud of small slips of paper swirled out from her body, engulfing the gathered ninja in a fluttering sea of white. Konan's paper wrapped around the elite ninja, pinning their arms and legs together, rendering them completely immobile. Tsunade alone remained untouched, surrounded by four mummified bodies. Sakura slowly walked toward her.

"Hello, sensei." Konan stood directly behind the pink-haired kunoichi, all senses alert for any warning of danger; but Sakura only had eyes for her former master.

"You ordered me killed." It wasn't a question.

Tsunade snapped, launching herself forward. She swung her clenched fist at Sakura's stomach, her chakra-augmented muscles preparing a devastating blow. Before Konan even had time to cry out in surprise, the blow landed.

Tsunade blinked in surprise. Her fist had collided with Sakura's glowing palm, her student's own superhuman strength enough to offset the force of her strike. Sakura closed her hand, grabbing Tsunade's fist with surprising force, and leaped upward. The pair of ninja crashed through the ceiling, hurtling toward the sky, taken off guard, Konan leaped after them.

Sakura landed lightly on the building's roof, a few meters away from where Tsunade crashed down. Struggling to her feet, Tsunade was shocked to discover slips of chakra infused paper assaulting her, binding her body tightly. Thrashing madly, her brute strength nullified by the sealing nature of the paper, Tsunade felt her entire body becoming encased, from her toe to her neck, pieces of paper reaching up to cover her mouth-

"No, Konan- stop."

Konan looked almost as surprised at the order as Tsunade did; but Sakura's voice was unyielding, her face firmly set. "Release her."

Konan grimaced, but waved her hand, Tsunade's paper cocoon retracting back to the paper ninja's arms. Tsunade stood up, panting slightly, and readied herself for Sakura's next attack. However, it didn't come; instead, Sakura simply walked forward and stood in front of her old teacher.

"I didn't come here to shed blood, Lady Tsunade. I came here for answers. Shikamaru told me that I was being executed by order of the Hokage when he attacked the stronghold." Despite herself, Sakura swallowed, emotion welling up inside of her. "I need to know, and I need to know why."

Outside the Hokage's tower, Kakuzu and I

* * *

tachi continued to battle on. Wave after wave of Leaf Shinobi continued to throw themselves at the duo, only to be cut down, throttled, or torn to pieces. But the long struggle combined with such short hours of rest the night before were finally taking their toll. Kakuzu's reflexes were growing sluggish, and he could tell Itachi was faring no better. Three of the waterfall ninja's hearts had already been destroyed, and at the rate the battle progressed, the others would soon follow.

Beside him, Itachi finally fell, pierced by so many kunai it was shocking he had remained standing for this long. Kakuzu lashed out at his killer, severing his head; barely a second later, a bright flash lit the area, and a beam of brilliant chakra lanced forward, shooting through the Waterfall ninja's fourth heart. Blood spurted out of his stitched mouth, but still Kakuzu fought on. His Earth heart had survived thus far, so his Iron Skin continued to protect him from the brunt of the kunai and other weapons that were attempting to pierce his skin; but he knew it wouldn't last. There was no victory to be had here, not for him.

Without warning, a lancing pain sliced through his calf, toppling him to one knee. Wincing at the sudden injury, he heard the ground behind him erupt, and a lean figure leaped out, landing before him. Looking up from where he now knelt on the paving stone, he managed a twisted smile.

"Sasuke Uchiha. What an honour." The young Uchiha stood before him, his flak vest splattered with blood, a long white blade held in his right hand. "You're a friend of Sakura's, aren't you?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but otherwise his face didn't change. "I don't know anyone by that name."

Kakuzu laughed, a harsh laugh that quickly dissolved into a bloody cough. "Ahh, the fabled Konoha sense of camaraderie. How inspiring."

The young Uchiha didn't rise to take the bait. "The ninja of the Leaf hold their comrades in the highest regard possible. I have no comrades by the name you give, and as such, they mean nothing to me." As if to hammer home a point, Sasuke sheathed his blade, then raised his right arm, electricity beginning to swirl around his outstretched hand. The sound of chirping birds filled the air. "Any last words?"

Determined not to let the Uchiha have the last word, Kakuzu smiled again. "Your brother always spoke very highly of you, you know."

Sasuke's eyes widened, and his hand shook, just slightly. Without warning, he buried his hand into Kakuzu's chest, electricity arcing out onto the ground. The Waterfall rogue ninja laughed once more, his blood splattering across Sasuke's face, before his life left his body.

Sasuke removed his bloodied hand and clenched his fist, saying nothing for a moment. Then, he turned from his foe's crumpled corpse, signalling to a group of other nearby ninja. "The Hokage is in danger. Let's go."

* * *

Sakura stood face-to-face with Tsunade. For a moment, neither spoke; then, Sakura broke the silence abruptly.

"Lady Tsunade… I need to know. Did you, or did you not, order me killed?"

Tsunade bowed her head, and to Sakura's surprise, tears began flowing from the corners of her eyes. "Sakura… I loved you as a daughter. For years, you have been one of the most important things in the world to me." Raising her head to look at Sakura, the pain on her face gave her the appearance of a broken, defeated woman. "I didn't want you to have to die! I wanted to save you! But the councillors… They overruled me. They convinced me to make the order."

"You became an enemy to the village, Sakura! And a dangerous one, at that." Tsunade kneaded her forehead with her hands. "I had a village to think of! I couldn't place one person over the good of my people, no matter how important that one person was to me. I'm sorry, but that's just… that's just the way the world works. Perceptions change, friends become foes, and the world continues as if nothing had every happened."

Sakura nodded, closing her eyes. "Deep down, I thought so. At first, I tried not to believe it was possible, but now I realize… this is no longer my home. This village holds nothing else for me." Clenching one first in front of her, she looked down, almost sadly. "I'm sure you, of all people, understand."

Tsunade straightened up, visibly pulling herself together. "All too well. But, you brought the most dangerous individuals in the ninja world to my village, and allowed them to run rampant, killing all who opposed them. You say you did not come to shed blood, and yet through your actions, you shed more Leaf blood than has been shed in recent memory." Raising her hand, Tsunade cast off the dull green cloak she wore, exposing her grey shirt and exposed shoulders. "I cannot allow you to leave this place alive."

Sakura crouched down, her fist pressed against the ground, chakra gathering at the point of contact as she prepared herself for battle. Seeing her do so, Tsunade shook her head. "I don't think you understand, Sakura. I'm no longer holding back."

Without warning, Tsunade was standing behind Sakura. The pink-haired kunoichi spun around, but she was too slow; Tsunade had already planted a kick straight into her side. A gasp of pain escaped Sakura's lips as the kick threw her backward, and she slammed into one of the stone pillars adorning the roof of the Hokage's tower.

Konan growled, the sound rumbling from the back of her throat. Stepping forward, she squared off against the Hokage, paper slips beginning to storm about her like an angry swarm of insects. Her body split apart, becoming a mass of paper, blending in perfectly with the storm of whiteness covering the roof. The swirling mass of paper expanded, engulfing Tsunade in a blizzard of flying bits of paper.

Tsunade shielded her eyes, squinting and trying in vain to see clearly through the almost zero-visibility of the paper storm. Behind her, the pieces came together to reform Konan's upper body, and she silently raised her hand, a spear of paper pieces forming in her hand. Stabbing forward, she tried viciously to impale Tsunade with the spear. Hearing the sound of the attack, the older woman swung around, her chakra-infused hand slamming into the improvised weapon. With her other hand, Tsunade thrust a jab into Konan's half-formed chest, causing her to reform her entire body in shock, falling to the ground. The blue-haired woman winced as Tsunade placed her high-heeled foot on the side of her head; however, before she could deliver the killing blow, a black-gloved fist shot out of nowhere, slamming hard into the side of her head.

Tsunade stumbled, and Sakura pressed her advantage, delivering a storm of blows to Tsunade's stomach. Coughing up blood, the blonde-headed Hokage leaped incredibly high, landing atop the giant carved head of the Third Hokage. Sakura followed, as Tsunade jumped down onto the vast expanse of green, grassy field behind the mountain carvings. Konan stood shakily before following the battling kunoichi.

When she passed over the gigantic stone effigies of Konoha's leaders, Sakura and Tsunade were facing each other, both breathing heavily. Konan fluttered down to join Sakura, placing a hand on her lovers shoulder and whispering in her ear. "Love… you have your answers. Don't throw away your life needlessly."

Sakura closed her eyes. "I know, Konan. But I can't leave it this way. Not until-" Sakura's sentence died in her throat as she and Konan realized with a start that Tsunade was suddenly standing directly in front of them. Reaching out, she grabbed a hold of each kunoichi's shoulder, then slammed them both into the ground. Crying out, Sakura swiped uselessly at Tsunade with her foot as she toppled, but the Sannin dodged easily. Then, she lifted her hand and signalled.

Sakura struggled back to her feet, looking her former sensei in the eye. To her surprise, she realized that Tsunade had begun to tear up again, sadness etched onto all features of her face. Then, a figure appeared over the top of the Hokage mountain.

Kakashi stood atop the Third Hokage's carved head, his Sharingan flashing in the light. His masked face was hidden, as always, but the small area of skin visible was enough to see the conflict he was feeling. Tsunade saw him and said simply "Do it."

Kakashi raised his hands, then slammed them onto the ground.

_Earth style: Pitfall Trap!_

Without warning, the ground below Konan, Sakura, and Tsunade opened up, forming a pit several meters deep. The three kunoichi fell, Konan only barely managing to unfurl her paper wings and catch Sakura on the way down; the effort drained her, however, and her wings crumbled as they hit to dirt floor.

Kakashi stood on the rim of the pit, the pain in his eye visible even from that far distance. Sakura gazed up at him, at the figure that had so often been a vision of strength, of trust, in her life. Kakashi stared back, and as he did, a single tear rolled down his cheek. At last, he spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Tsunade stood up and shouted at him, sweat pouring down her dirty-stained face. "Kakashi! DO IT!"

The mirror ninja raised his hand, and with a thrill of terror, Sakura saw the sunny sky grow grey, towering black clouds gathering directly above the pit. With one final look of pain at what he was about to do, Kakashi slashed his hand downward.

_Great Lightning Blade: Heaven-Piercing Bolt!_

The clouds erupted, and a massive spray of electrical energy shot out of them, hitting Kakashi's outstretched hand. The lightning arced from his hand and burst forward, taking the shape of a great, charging dog that raced down into the pit. Closer and closer it drew, sizzling with energy, bolts of wayward lightning splitting off and striking the earthen walls.

Sakura's eyes widened, and she grabbed Konan's hand. Looking her lover in the eye, she smashed her lips into her blue-haired lover's, closing her eyes. Disconnecting, tears welling up in her eyes, she hugged the paper kunoichi close. "I'm so sorry, Konan."

"I love you."

With a final crash, the pit was completely filled with lightning, and Kakashi was forced to turn away from the blinding light. When it had finally subsided, he looked back. The pit was empty, no bodies to be seen: the force of the jutsu had disintegrated any evidence of the lives he had just ended.

Behind him, a party of ninja walked toward the edge of the hole, Shikamaru at their head. Kakashi turned as they reached him, and even Shikamaru was surprised at the tortured look on his face. However, when he spoke, his voice was strong.

"So passes Lady Tsunade, Fifth Hokage of the Land of Fire."

Shikamaru bowed his head and was silent, and the rest of the assembled Shinobi followed suit. Then, He raised his head. "We'll begin arranging funeral rites immediately. In the meantime, a new Hokage must be named…" he placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "The responsibility will most likely fall to you, my friend. The silver-haired ninja simply nodded. The rest of the party turned to return to the ruined village, but Kakashi turned to the great pit that still yawned behind the Hokage Mountain. Bending down, he reached into his vest, placing a photograph down before the hole.

"Goodbye, Sakura."

And he walked away, leaving behind the small picture of Sakura Haruno to sit where it lay, before the wind picked it up and bore it away.

* * *

**Good lord, that was a long one. **

**As always, reviews are appreciated.**


	11. Epilogue: Some Time Later

**The usual disclaimer on not owning Naruto.**

* * *

The wind-blown sand began to recede, then stopped altogether, as a pair of anxious faces peeked out of the door of a small, modest-looking home. Two young children ran out onto the rough street before the house, crying out and laughing as they played, batting a small leather ball between them with their hands, feet and whatever other body parts they happened to be able to hit it with.

One of the children stopped suddenly and pointed at something down the road, his smile drooping slightly as a look of light wonderment crossed his face. His female companion turned about, and likewise, her ringing laughter trailed off into silence. A figure was striding down the road toward them, garbed completely in a loose-fitting, rough brown cloak that obscured their face. At the sight of the newcomer, the children felt the first faint stirrings of fear rising in their hearts; being born and raised on the outskirts of the Hidden Sand Village, they were no strangers to awe-inspiring and often frightening or cruel ninja passing through.

The figure had drawn near enough to the children for them to see that it carried a large basket under one arm, its contents concealed by a large piece of deep red fabric thrown over top of it. The children did not run, but simply stared, staying where they were as the stranger approached.

As it drew near, the robed figure seemed to study the children, making no sound or motion to indicate a reaction to their presence. Finally coming to a halt before the pair, the figure made no move. The young boy reached out and gently grabbed the girl's shoulder, pulling her behind him, and tried to look as intimidating as he could; however, the attempt was largely wasted, offset by his tiny stature and general young age.

The strange person raised their head, allowing for the first time the children to see the lower half of the face hidden beneath the dull brown hood. A warm smile spread across their face, and the stranger bent down on one knee, drawing them more or less even in height with the two children. Reaching into the basket it carried, the strange figure withdrew its hand, and clutched in it were two beautiful read apples, shining like fist-sized rubies. The figure held them out to the children, who exclaimed with joy as they accepted the treats.

"Wow! Thank you, um… Mister?" However, the figure gave no confirmation to the youth's attempt at identification, and simply departed once again down the road, leaving the children to sit down in the sand beside the rough dirt track, enjoying their delicious gains in silence.

The cloaked form continued down the road, noting that the closer they approached Sunagakure itself, the more dense, larger, and extravagant (relatively speaking) the buildings became; a great deal were constructed of weathered stone or wood, and a few had two or even three stories. The streets were narrow, with buildings crowded in close proximity to each other. People became much more numerous on the streets, and occasionally once would nod or wave politely to the stranger, who would respond in kind. Setting their vision on one particularly large building, the figure ascended a steep flight of steps carved into the stone of the structure, opening a door on the second floor and stepping inside.

The stranger had barely stepped into the tidy little entranceway and levelled the door shut behind them when a slightly pinched voice sounded from one of the adjoining rooms: "Where have you been? There was a sandstorm, I've been worried sick!"

A young woman walked around the corner of the door and immediately threw herself at the cloaked figure, gripping them tightly. The cloaked stranger, clearly no stranger here, looked at her and smiled; her hair might now be chocolate brown, and her distinctive green eyes changed to a pale, powdery blue, but the figure was able to see past the disguise with little effort.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." Konan apologized as she pulled back her hood, revealing a shock of short, ebony black hair and a pair of piercing violet eyes. "There was a market caravan from Konoha passing near the village, I couldn't resist. I was out of the storm safely, I promise you." When Sakura huffed slightly, still looking grumpy about the turn of events, the paper kunoichi reached into the basket slung on her arm. "Can I start making it up to you now?" She pulled out a small wooden dish, almost overflowing with a colourful assortment of small berries. Sakura's eyes widened at the sight.

"Well…. Alright, I forgive you." Leaning in close, she kissed her lover, holding contact for a few moments before breaking away and plucking a blueberry from the dish. The obvious climate restrictions in most of the Land of Wind made the growing of produce a nigh-impossible task, and as such, acquiring any sort of fruit or vegetable was often difficult, expensive, or both.

Sakura was just about to eat another berry when the thought struck her. "How much did these cost you?" she asked warily, eyeing the strawberry as though it had become some priceless, delicious heirloom.

"It doesn't matter." Konan smiled and gave Sakura a peck on the cheek. "It was worth it, and besides, we're not exactly hurting for money." It was true enough; she and Sakura had each saved enough funds from their ninja careers to live in modest comfort for years to come.

"Well…. Alright." Konan smiled and walked into the tiny kitchen of the apartment, placing the basket of produce on the counter. Sakura sighed, then walked up behind the other woman, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Konan?"

"Mhmm?"

"What are you doing today?"

Konan turned around, her eyes widening in mock surprise. "Sakura… Are you asking me out on a date?" Sakura playfully punched her in the stomach, and she continued more seriously: "I hadn't made any special plans, why?"

Sakura turned to half face away from Konan, looking at her lover out of the corner of her eye. "Well… I've just really been wanting to get out of the house."

* * *

About an hour later, Konan and Sakura were seated on a path of brilliant green, overlooking a small, bright blue oasis. These patches of fertility were not exactly uncommon in the Land of Wind, but they were normally far from civilization, and Sakura had discovered this one not long after they had fled to the Sand Village. The village itself was not visible from where they sat, as both the oasis and ring of greenery surrounding it were protected by a sunken valley, carved into the flat surrounding landscape.

Sakura sighed contentedly, leaning against Konan's shoulder as the pair gazed out over the glassy-smooth water; however, it was clear to Konan that her companion was ill at ease. Even if her chakra hadn't been fluctuating, waving back and forth like a tree caught in a windstorm, her subtle facial cues and body language were more than enough evidence for the ever-perceptive Konan.

"Something on your mind, beautiful?" she half-asked, half-teased the younger woman. Sakura blew the air out of her lungs with a puff, then looked at Konan.

"How long has it been since that day?" She didn't need to specify. Konan blinked slowly, thinking back through the last few weeks.

"I'd say somewhere around three and a half weeks…. maybe four? " She looked at Sakura with concern. "Why?"

The pinkette-turned-brunette sighed, and began fingering something in the pouch she carried around her waist. "It's been that long since we've come here, put everything behind us… and I'm still not at ease. And now, I think I'm finally starting to understand why."

Without another word, Sakura stood up from her resting place and began walking slowly around the deep blue pool. Konan had no need to ask where she was going; standing up, she followed her lover.

Across the oasis, a small swatch of short, stubby bushes was growing against the sheer wall of the valley. Sakura drew near the wall and reached out, drawing the bushes aside. Behind them, against the stone rough wall, was a line of small standing stones. They were weathered and chipped from weeks of exposure to the sandy climate, but the names carved on them were still clearly legible: Itachi, Hidan, Deidara, Kisame, Kakuzu, Tobi, and Pain. Only Zetsu was conspicuously absent, since Sakura had no reason to believe that he had perished in the assault on Konoha; in fact, given her last glance of him escaping the Hokage's tower and his general resistance to injury made Sakura suspect that he was still alive and well somewhere. She cared little, since it was unlikely their paths would every cross again.

Sakura knelt down before the line of headstones. "Hey guys." she spoke to her fallen friends, and Konan, who had long grown accustomed to Sakura's habit of speaking to the dead, said nothing. There were, of course, no bodies buried beneath the sand; Sakura and Konan had neither the time nor the means to remove their friend's remains from the Leaf Village as they escaped. But, even so, Sakura had felt that a memorial had been in order. Let Tsunade be honoured by some extravagant crypt in Konoha; her companions- her family- would be held in just as high honour here, by herself and Konan.

"So, guys, I've got something to say." Sakura reached behind her as she spoke. "I'm finally prepared to do what I should have done a long time ago, and I felt like you guys should see it." Bringing her hand around in front of her, Sakura revealed what she had been fiddling with in her pouch; Konan was mildly surprised to see her old Leaf headband. It showed signs of damage, rips in the cloth band, but the smooth steel of the panel emblazoned on the headband had remained untarnished. With her other hand, Sakura drew a kunai from her belt and placed the tip against the cool metal.

There was no malice in Sakura's heart as she sliced the knife across her headband, leaving a deep gash in the blade's wake. A kind of sadness slid through her, but her eyes remained dry; with Tsunade's death, her final link with Konoha had been severed completely.

Konan leaned down and took her hand. "Let's go home, love." Sakura smiled at the statement. Yes, for the first time, the trip to the Sand village would truly feel like the journey "home". The pair began the long trek back to the village, hand in hand; and to any observers, Sakura would have appeared to be walking taller than she had in many months. It was as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders; she was finally ready to move on.

* * *

**I felt like a happy ending was in order for this one.**

**Thank you to everyone who's stuck with the story through to the end; and with that, I've finished the last of my stories that were started back when I opened my profile, so long ago. I look forward to moving on to a new "generation" of stories, if you will, and I'm extremely grateful for everyone who's come along for the ride.**

**As usual, reviews are appreciated.**


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